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Penticton looks at removing building height restrictions in downtown

Task force recommends removing three-storey restrictions for downtown and four-storey on Lakeshore
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Some controversy around the council table when Mѻýakola Housing Society, through funding from BC Housing, wanted to build a five storey affordable housing building at 603 Main Street. This project was approved in 2022 but nothing has come of it since. (Rendering)

Pentictonѻýs housing task force is bringing 18 recommendations to council including removing 3-storey height limits in the downtown and 4-storey building height restrictions on Lakeshore Drive.

ѻýAs chair of the task force, it has been a privilege to work with such a capable and diverse group of members,ѻý said chair Nathan Little. ѻýThe task was difficult as the issues we face are complex and our geography adds another layer of complexity. All of the recommendations made here are designed to meet the housing needs of today and tomorrow. Some of them will challenge perceptions of what Penticton is but we believe this work will set us on a path towards Councilѻýs goal of improved housing across the entire spectrum.ѻý

The recommendations include:

ѻý Allowing up to four or six residential units on all currently single- and two-family designated lands

ѻý In strategic areas, support changing the commercial, tourist commercial, industrial and residential land use designations to the ѻýmixed useѻý designation

ѻý Removal of the three-storey height limit in the downtown and four-storey height restriction on Lakeshore Drive

Allow additional high-density residential capacity on large shopping centres by designating them ѻýmixed useѻý

ѻý Review parking regulations and shift from parking requirements to parking recommendations, in strategic areas to incentivize housing development and encourage alternative forms of transportation

ѻý Support the city and staff working with non-profit housing proponents to develop new non-market housing that meets the needs of a range of people, and retains existing non-market housing units (no net loss)

ѻý The City to develop a ѻýsocial housing planѻý in the near term to provide strategic direction to determine and achieve a range of non-market housing goals

ѻý Remove the Spiller Road area as a ѻýgrowth areaѻý, and change the future land use designation of Spiller Road to ѻýRural Residentialѻý

ѻý Investigate policies and programs to spur new housing development and redevelopment

ѻýThe OCP-Housing Task Force has done a tremendous job of assessing all the data presented, taking in the input through the community engagement process and providing Council with a thoughtful approach to how we move forward,ѻý said Blake Laven, the Cityѻýs director of development Services.

The task force was established earlier this year to work on amendments to the OCP to address the housing crisis.

The city recently conducted the 2023 Housing Needs Assessment. The assessment showed that between 2016 to 2021, Pentictonѻýs annual growth rate was high at 1.9 per cent. If this trend continues, the city may have around 20,000 additional residents and 9,200 additional households by 2046.

The task forceѻýs recommendations are being presented to council Dec. 12 and staff are asking council direct staff to incorporate the recommendations into the upcoming Official Community Plan amendments.

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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