A controversial move by Peachland district council to 乌鸦传媒渃larify乌鸦传媒� its Official Community Plan, as it relates to two Beach Avenue properties where a developer wants to build a five-storey building, drew a large crowd Tuesday night.
And the crowd, estimated at over 100乌鸦传媒攎any of whom oppose plans for the PeachTree Village development乌鸦传媒攚ere unhappy with both council乌鸦传媒檚 plan to change the wording of the OCP and to hold the meeting in council chambers instead of a larger room.
乌鸦传媒淭o hold it in a room that accommodates so few people was ridiculous,乌鸦传媒� said Randy Brophey of the Friends of Beach Avenue.
He said his group does not argue with the council乌鸦传媒檚 right to change the OCP but it is opposed to the development in question.
Opponents of the PeachTree Village development do not want to see buildings as tall as five storeys on the district乌鸦传媒檚 lakeshore. The group has launched legal action to try and stop development and claims large public opposition is not being listened to by council. It says a 900-name petition was ignored.
But Mayor Cindy Fortin said she believes the opponents are a vocal minority. She said she has had many people in the district tell her they want to see the development go ahead because there has not been any major development in the downtown core in 30 years.
The Friends of Beach Avenue乌鸦传媒檚 petition to the B.C. Supreme Court is based on what the group calls the OCP乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒渧ery strong language乌鸦传媒� that it says states buildings should be no higher than three-stories on Beach Avenue.
乌鸦传媒淭he main thing is we want to keep Peachland as a calm, quiet town,乌鸦传媒� said association director Lloyd Sotas.
乌鸦传媒淲e don乌鸦传媒檛 appreciate the change of the OCP in this willy-nilly manner to allow the PeachTree development to go ahead. This is being done in a manner that we don乌鸦传媒檛 really understand why. We don乌鸦传媒檛 know why they are doing this so quickly without public input.乌鸦传媒�
He added concerns about the development include the availability of parking, as well as the Peachland Fire Department乌鸦传媒檚 lack of a ladder truck to access a five-storey buildings in the case of fire.
According to Peachland chief administrative officer Elsie Lemke, the OCP is a 乌鸦传媒渃larification乌鸦传媒� to make sure the reference to three storey buildings on Beach Avenue is a guideline, not a regulation.
The district is in the process of re-writing its OCP, a large task that will not be complete until later this year.
Lemke said the public will have an opportunity to address council乌鸦传媒檚 planned wording change for the two properties in question at a public hearing that will take place Jan. 30. That meeting will take place in the gymnasium of the Peachland Community Centre.
As for Tuesday night乌鸦传媒檚 council meeting and the large crowd it attracted, Lemke said district staff called the police in when the fire chief ruled the council chamber was over its legal occupancy capacity. Fortin said she asked several times for volunteers in the standing room-only crowd to move into an adjoining room with a live video feed but no one agreed.
Also during the meeting, veteran Coun. Terry Condon, who had given $20 to the Friends of Beach Avenue to help support its legal fight against the district, was ruled in a conflict of interest and had to remove himself from discussion on the proposed development.
Fortin said the district sought legal advice on Condon乌鸦传媒檚 conflict of interest.
But Brophey called the move to exclude Condon a 乌鸦传媒渂ullying tactic乌鸦传媒� by the mayor.
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