One has to wonder why the City of Vernon even hired a long-term planner if her recommendations aren’t going to be listened to. Council was urged Monday not to consider any official community plan amendments until the OCP review is completed early next year. And while the broad notion was accepted, holes were immediately poked into the new policy. Among them was moving ahead on an application that would see a residential development constructed in Okanagan Landing. It is a major shift from the land use already in place there, and the OCP review should have been allowed to run its course. Obviously, though, there is some grey area with this one because the developer had already been working with city staff and it’s unrealistic to hold everything up.
However, the height of hypocrisy comes from those councillors who want to stall other projects during the OCP review but refuse to do so with city-owned land, specifically the Coldstream Hotel site. After abandoning the cultural complex idea, the city now wants to sell the site off to developers for commercial uses and possibly housing. But the property is currently designated commercial in the OCP, and housing would be a substantial change. Because of that, the consultants working on the OCP review should be allowed to consider that possibility and see if such a use is suitable there in terms of community objectives. Staff has stated nothing will happen with the Coldstream Hotel site before the OCP review wraps up, but that’s not the point.
The bottom line appears to be that there is one set of rules for the city and another set for everyone else.
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