A new residential development planned for the shores of Osoyoos Lake may be expanded to include its own strata marina facility for residents.
The multi-home development at 8000 Cottonwood Drive, which will consist of single family, townhome, and condominium units, has already received approval from Osoyoos town council. Now, Cottonwood Lakeshore Developments proposes to add a 60-slip marina to maintain cohesiveness with other strata developments south of Osoyoos.
Along with the need for zoning amendments to allow a larger number of residential slips per strata resident, council will also have to remove two covenants that were placed on the zone specifically to block any strata marina from being attached to the property on Cottonwood Drive.
While this may seem like a tall order, town staff have put their support behind removal of the covenants because they were specifically written for a past development proposal, and could therefore be considered irrelevant to the current case.
Penticton’s Trademark Industries is currently working on behalf of Cottonwood Lakeshore Developments to secure approval from the provincial government, which may involve environmental assessments to determine what impact a 60-slip marina would have on the lake habitat in that area.
Provincial laws also state that strata marinas cannot be used for commercial activity, nor can berths be privately rented or sold to anyone outside of the strata, so there should be no issues with increased water traffic or overcrowding. In fact, a single marina will eliminate the need for multiple buoys and anchors along the foreshore area.
Osoyoos town council voted for a first and second reading of the marina proposal at their March 9 meeting, which now allows the town to call a public meeting for input from Osoyoos’s residents. No date has currently been set, though March 29 has been suggested.
