Landing units given approval

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: November 10, 2009 7:00 PM

A contentious development in Okanagan Landing has been given the green light. Vernon council has adopted a bylaw that would rezone 9650 Eastside Road from tourist commercial to hillside residential. That will allow for the construction of 120 single and two-family units on 25 acres.“It fits with the official community plan and staff fully supported it,” said Mayor Wayne Lippert. “The majority of the residents out there also seemed to support it.” Some residents had expressed concern that the development will worsen traffic on the narrow, two-lane Eastside Road, but Lippert disagrees. “I expect there will be some improvements. I’m confident a lot of the concerns will be addressed,” he said. Other opponents claimed that the Edgewood project encourages sprawl, but Coun. Buffy Baumbrough stands behind the developer’s plan. “He could have moved ahead with development because of the zoning he had in place already but he worked with the city and met the hillside guidelines,” she said.

The lone vote against rezoning the former Paraiso campground site was Coun. Bob Spiers. “It’s a great proposal but it’s out of time and out of place,” he said. “It doesn’t conform with the OCP. We should be building from the inside (city centre) out and not from the outside in.”

Craig Stowe, Edgewood owner, wasn’t surprised by council’s decision. “We’d done the due diligence needed and we worked with the city to meet the OCP. It’s the best use of that land,” he said. While rezoning is approved, construction can’t begin immediately. “The next step is working with city staff on development planning,” said Stowe, who isn’t sure when construction may start.