By Judie Steeves - Kelowna Capital News - March 09, 2008
Central Okanagan residents are being polled about how much they’re willing to pay to acquire more parkland, for a possible referendum during the fall civic elections. Murray Kopp, assistant parks director for the regional district, says they are looking at borrowing as much as $75 million to acquire properties throughout the region for future parks. That would translate into an increase of about $100 a household in the taxes on a medium-value home in this region, he figured. However, if the Ipsos Reid survey results indicate that’s more than residents are willing to pay, it could be as low as $10—restricting how much property could be purchased for public parks as part of its Legacy Project. The survey will be carried out between March 12 and 16. In particular, Kopp said they are hoping to be able to fill in some gaps in the representative ecosystems preserved as park, including Englemann Spruce and Interior Douglas Fir grasslands. “There are few intact grasslands remaining in this region,” noted Kopp. While current regional parks protect some environmentally-sensitive areas, at the same time as providing opportunities for a variety of outdoor recreational activities, the population is growing and such available lands are becoming more scarce.The other goal is to secure more land for greenways such as the immensely popular and intensely used Mission Creek Greenway, said Kopp.He identified areas such as along Lebanon Creek, Bellevue Creek, Powers Creek and Trepanier Creek as sites for future greenways and linear corridors. Today there are 28 regional parks for a total of 1,057 hectares. Most are larger natural area parks.For more details of the Legacy Project, go to the regional parks page at: www.regionaldistrict.com or call the parks department at 469-6232.
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