Another development has raised the ire of Okanagan Landing residents as a handful of neighbours gathered at City Hall to protest a carport planned for their street.BNS Lakeshore Developments asked that city council vary the setbacks for the carport for a seven-unit complex of condos worth nearly $1 million each. The setback would allow the developer to build the carport within 1.5 metres of the property line on the narrow 24 metre lot.Landing resident Pam Atmore said
too often council allows developers to have setback after setback. She said bylaws are there for a reason and council should enforce them.“Now (developers) are pushing it and pushing it so neighbours have exhaust fumes coming into their homes,” she said.Seasons developer Paul Gaskin owns two nearby properties and spoke at the meeting saying he owed it to his neighbours. He said the carport and condo project represented “extraordinarily bad planning practices.”Gaskin said the city’s waterfront plan which led to such condo projects, should be abandoned before other developments that don’t benefit the lakeshore are passed.“What you’ll end up with is concrete walls facing the lake leaving future residents of the Landing shaking their heads wondering how this could happen,” he said. Krystine McInnes the developer for the project said the delay is not surprising given the council’s recent decision making process.“Nothing out of character for the current council,” she said. “They tend to like to defer things.” The decision won’t slow the construction on the condos as building is already well underway and permits have been approved. The only issue left to be deal with are the parking structures, she said.McInnes said the city’s current waterfront plan is full of holes and should be sunk. She said she’s had far too much trouble trying to work within the plan’s requirements and it needs to be changed.“I think the plan’s poorly thought out and it’s been a challenge for us to work with,” she said. “It doesn’t reflect the official community plan at all.”---------------------------------------
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