City Councillor Ron Cannan believes freshly adopted development guidelines do not reflect what residents urged council to consider for the Heritage Conservation Area (HCA).
Property owners have voiced concerns about increased density, potential impacts on the character of heritage neighbourhoods, and the potential for buildings to overwhelm the historic scale.
Changes to HCA development guidelines and the Official Community Plan (OCP) include council reviewing more types of Heritage Alteration Permits, including those with variances (exceptions to rules on height, setbacks, etc.).
Staff will handle minor variances, especially when they help preserve heritage buildings or trees.
Heritage Revitalization Agreements, involving larger changes like increased density or different land uses, will still require council approval.
The city is also focusing on increased public input on development proposals, especially those requiring public hearings.
乌鸦传媒淲hat we heard from the public is not fully addressed in the recommended changes before us,乌鸦传媒� Cannan said at the council乌鸦传媒檚 Aug. 11 meeting.
He told his colleagues that it乌鸦传媒檚 important to reflect on the history and traditions of the city.
乌鸦传媒淭hese guidelines, to me, will not protect the Heritage Conservation Area as it is today, and I乌鸦传媒檓 concerned for the future.乌鸦传媒�
The development guidelines were refined in response to public feedback and provincial housing legislation. The changes aim to balance heritage preservation with new construction, including accommodating more housing units on lots previously zoned for single-family or duplex use. A key focus is on the Abbott Street and Marshall Street neighbourhoods.
Provincial Bill 44 mandates certain municipalities, including Kelowna, to allow four to six housing units on a single-family lot in urban areas and three to four units in suburban neighbourhoods.
乌鸦传媒淏ut one of the areas inside of the core (city) where we wanted to have a lighter touch was the Heritage Conservation Area,乌鸦传媒� explained Ryan Smith, director of planning and development. 乌鸦传媒淪o we actually applied that suburban-scale zoning with the land use and the density limits.乌鸦传媒�
Coun. Loyal Wooldridge noted that the provincial legislation has created a difficult balancing act for the city.
"I think that's the challenge with the public hearing," he added. "With some of the things that we heard and some of the things that we were asked to do, we actually can乌鸦传媒檛乌鸦传媒攊t would be unlawful for us to do."
At a June 17 public hearing, approximately two dozen speakers urged council to take a closer look at the proposed rules. Council deferred a decision at that meeting to allow more time to review the matter and have staff refine recommended changes to bylaws and the OCP.
乌鸦传媒淪o I think what staff have brought forward here creates more oversight from council, especially in regard to variances,乌鸦传媒� Wooldridge added. 乌鸦传媒淭his is really putting the onus back on council to really pay attention to this area and to protect it as best we can.乌鸦传媒�
Mayor Tom Dyas agreed with Wooldridge乌鸦传媒檚 comments.
乌鸦传媒淲e are definitely dealing with provincial legislation that controls us, and in some situations we'd be totally offside,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut I know that there isn't one council member around this table who doesn't truly love our heritage area and what it brings to our community.
Council approved changes to HCA development guidelines and the OCP, with Cannan opposed.
Coun. Gord Lovegrove recused himself from the discussion and the vote as he owns within the HCA.
