Stober application returning to Council

Wayne Moore - Apr 6, 2009 CASTANET:

Kelowna's mayor has used her 'special power' to bring back an application previously rejected by Council. Two weeks ago, developer Al Stober asked Kelowna Council to support his application to have a 22 acre orchard south of Summit Drive removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Council defeated the request by a 4-3 vote, despite a 15-year-old agreement where the City council of the day indicated it would support such an application. Mayor, Sharon Shepherd, cast the deciding no vote. One of the perks of being mayor is the ability to have any item from a previous meeting brought back before council within a 30 day period without requiring a vote by council. Shepherd says this is the first time since she has been mayor that she has used the power. She says after going through records, some which had to be brought out of storage, she felt the issue should be revisited. "I went through in detail all of the historical background for this application and looked at previous commitments. We feel there was may be some information I had not been made aware of through my own due diligence," says Shepherd. "I contacted the applicant and they went through some of the documents they had and based on that, I was willing to bring it back."

Shepherd indicated she would likely be changing her vote, which means, unless Councillors Andre Blanleil, Brian Given or Graeme James change their vote, the outcome will be reversed. The agreement between the city and Stober was reached after he allowed the lower portion of Summit Drive to dissect the property. The road served as a second route in and out of the Dilworth Mountain subdivision. In exchange for using the land, the council of the day agreed to back an application to have the land removed from the ALR. Stober Construction wants the land excluded from the ALR in order to pursue construction of single and multi family residential developments. The item is expected to come back before council when it meets again April 20.
Regardless of Council's decision, the final decision will still rest with the ALC.