A UBCO student had a message for a member of a community group opposed to a 25-storey tower on the old Kelowna RCMP site during Tuesday (Jul. 26) night乌鸦传媒檚 council meeting.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e read about the previous speaker,乌鸦传媒� said Jackson Higgs. 乌鸦传媒淚 believe he乌鸦传媒檚 just trying to protect the view from his luxury condo. Well, 20 thousand students call this place home during classes.乌鸦传媒�

Just before Higgs spoke, Les Bellamy with Kelowna Legacy Group (KLG) had criticized council for wanting to stick the tower in the middle of several low-rise buildings.

乌鸦传媒淭his drastic insertion will look like a phallic symbol,乌鸦传媒� argued Bellamy.

READ MORE: Kelowna Legacy Group doubles down on doubling of downtown tower

The project has an affordable housing component, which was noted as something that is desperately needed by several other UBCO students who spoke in favour of the development.

Bellamy said while he appreciates the support for affordable housing, lake view properties are not the ones the community desperately needs.

Others who spoke against the tower took council to task over the process it took to get the project where it is now. Many in opposition questioned why the tower was allowed to grow to 25-storeys from 13, which was the original height laid out in the request for proposals from the city.

乌鸦传媒淭he process is unfair to the taxpayers and the development community as well,乌鸦传媒� said one area resident. 乌鸦传媒淚t sends the wrong message to the public.乌鸦传媒�

KLG has led that charge and has called for the development to be paused or even scrapped. Several councillors acknowledged they could have done better.

乌鸦传媒淚 love the project, but it乌鸦传媒檚 not transparent,乌鸦传媒� said Coun. Charlie Hodge. 乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 blame staff, my frustration is with this council. We have lost credibility, we have not kept our word.乌鸦传媒�

Coun. Mohini Singh said she was shocked by the amount of pushback on the project.

乌鸦传媒淚 think it乌鸦传媒檚 most I乌鸦传媒檝e had,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚 reached out to developers and the common thread I heard was faith and trust. They said 乌鸦传媒榶ou乌鸦传媒檙e changing the goal posts.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮�媒�

Coun. Loyal Wooldridge said he takes process seriously but did agonize over the project.

乌鸦传媒淚f we go back to square one it will be six years out before anything gets built and we will be missing that affordable housing need,乌鸦传媒� he added. 乌鸦传媒淚 think we are creating an amazing public benefit here.乌鸦传媒�

Questions were also raised about the legality of the process council undertook.

乌鸦传媒淟egal opinion was sought,乌鸦传媒� said Doug Gilchrist, city manager. 乌鸦传媒淲e are transparent and above board.乌鸦传媒�

Mayor Colin Basran spoke about the controversy the development has generated.

乌鸦传媒淭his whole bait and switch perpetrated about this project is so factually inaccurate,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 no conspiracy going on just a fully committed developer.乌鸦传媒�

Speaking about affordable housing, developer Greg Appelt told council that 316 units were included in the original tower, but that number dropped to 259 after the redesign.

乌鸦传媒淚t went down as a process of the public consultation in redesigning the building,乌鸦传媒� he said.

Appelt added that he was excited to get started.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been a long time coming.乌鸦传媒�

Council voted 6-2 to rezone the property and allow the tower to move forward. Councillors Hodge and Singh were opposed.

READ MORE: Make way: Kelowna UBCO tower passes public hearing hurdle