Whitehorse helicopter company says city development is forcing it to move

A Whitehorse helicopter company says it will have to move to a new location because of a new city development.

The city of Whitehorse has added a two-storey wash bay to its new $52-million operations building on Range Road. It's so close to Trans North Helicopters that its helicopters won't be able to safely take off and land, according to aviation regulations.

In April the city also proposed a second access road for large buses to access the operations building, which is also close to the company's operations. 

The two new developments will limit the amount of room helicopters will have to take off and land. Transport Canada's Canadian Aviation Regulations stipulate that helicopters must remain a minimum of 300 metres above road traffic.

We are being pushed into a facility without enough room for our equipment or our people.- James Rose, Trans North Helicopters general manager

"I think our end game here is just to do the move because we are boxed in and have no choice at this point," said James Rose, general manager of Trans North Helicopters.

"We have a very narrow corridor to get into the wind."

No 'red flags,' says city

The Yukon government has offered the company a lease on a smaller hangar by Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport, which Rose expects will cost the company $100,000.

He said he was left in the dark about the new wash bay location.

"None of this addresses the fact that we are being put in a disadvantageous business position," Rose said. "We are being pushed into a facility without enough room for our equipment or our people."

He said later on they might go to the city and ask for funding to mitigate the financial loss. 

Myles Dolphin, the manager of strategic communications with the city, said plans for the operations building have been public for a number of years and no property owners raised any concerns.

"Why weren't red flags raised with city officials when the foundation of the wash bay was put in?" Dolphin said in an email to CBC.

"The plans for that [access] road haven't been designed yet but we did state we were open to finding solutions that would accommodate Trans North's concerns."

In an interview, Dolphin said that when the location of the wash bay changed, the design was taken to Transport Canada and Nav Canada — "both of which approved this design and no red flags were ever raised," he said.

Dolphin said the city has gone through the proper regulatory process, including the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board, and received approvals. 

He said they're waiting for final documentation from Transport Canada and Nav Canada.

Dolphin said the city hopes to find an amicable solution with Trans North and is open to discussions.