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EDITORIAL: Much grousing

After much speculation, Grouse Mountain has been sold. It appears the new owners are a Vancouver-based investment firm that is at least 60 per cent Canadian owned.

After much speculation, Grouse Mountain has been sold. It appears the new owners are a Vancouver-based investment firm that is at least 60 per cent Canadian owned.

The company says things will be business as usual for management and employees, which we are relieved to hear.

When we went looking, we couldn’t find many people who believed this sale would be a net benefit. In fact, we found a lot of disgusting xenophobia in the online comments when it appeared Chinese capital was mostly behind the purchase.

We’re still not 100 per cent certain where all the investors’ money originates, but we don’t want to conflate business investment with real estate speculation.

We’re more interested with the possibility this is the beginning of a new wave of development for Grouse. There has long been speculation about a spa and hotel at the top, a mountain bike park or paved access road.

North Shore residents are protective of the mountains they’ve chosen to live in the shadow of, and rightly so. They are a big piece of our identity and they’re enveloped by the land and headwaters we rely on for our water.

The Grouse Grind is owned by the people of Metro Vancouver and we take pride in using it to ruin the day of out-of-town guests. The resort also has a residential neighbourhood near its base that must cope with any changes.

Whatever it is that happens up there, we expect an extremely thorough vetting by the District of North Vancouver and Metro Vancouver, which have land use jurisdiction. And we expect proactive, exhaustive consultation. Making drastic changes to such an iconic place should be like moving mountains.

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