Development sparks debate

By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff Aug 26 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/

Some Okanagan Landing residents fear city hall is ignoring concerns about a proposed development. Vernon council recently debated plans for a 100-unit project on the old Paraiso Point campground property on Eastside Road and a clubhouse on Whitepoint Road. But a 65-name petition was not part of discussions. “They aren’t looking at this stuff,” said David Pusey, an Eastside Road resident who circulated the petition. “I thought by leaving this with council, they’d make a decision that shows the public is against it but the vote hasn’t changed.” Attempts to deal with the issue at the Aug. 13 council meeting were deadlocked. It will come back Monday when all council members are present.

Mayor Wayne Lippert is aware of the petition and letters from concerned residents, and he insists they aren’t being ignored. “One reason it’s coming back is because staff has received these submissions and there wasn’t time to get it into the (Aug. 13 staff) report,” he said. “We need input and to hear from the people living down there.” There are two components to the petition — one opposing rezoning for a clubhouse and the other demanding that access to Paraiso Point be from a new road above the development and not from Eastside Road. “With the amount of traffic on the road now, it’s a mess,” said Pusey, who believes the project could lead to rental accommodations and increased traffic in the area. As for the proposed clubhouse, there is concern that such a use is inappropriate for the current single-family residential site on Whitepoint Road. “This is a residential neighbourhood,” said Richard Frontain, a Whitepoint Road resident. “Where once a family lived, there could be 400 people or 100 people or what ever the number is. It completely changes the design of that property.” Frontain claims a clubhouse could lead to noise and traffic and set a precedent for other developments in the area to purchase lakeshore homes for clubhouses. “We could be surrounded by these things,” he said.

But other residents are willing to accept the project if strict development guidelines are in place. “It’s a better thing than a campsite,” said Robert Rutherford, who lives on Cameron Road. “He (developer Craig Stowe) has listened to our input. It’s been a very respectful process.” Rutherford also backs having a clubhouse. “It’s an attempt to provide lake access,” he said.
Eastside Road resident Marcel Payeur downplays suggestions of noise at the clubhouse. “There will be noise requirements and they will offer kayaks. It will be a quiet use of the lake,” said Payeur. In terms of the clubhouse, Stowe says that became part of the plans based on concerns from year-round residents about how people from his development would access Okanagan Lake. “People think it (clubhouse) is a great idea because it takes pressure off the public access beaches in the neighbourhood.” Stowe also defends the use of Eastside Road for the development. “We’ve done a traffic study and it says that road can sustain that development,” he said. He added that while a new, upper-level road could ultimately be constructed, it is a long-term initiative of the city and it will be funded by future development.