— Concerns over impact of development as proposal heads to RDOS —

(OSOYOOS TIMES — OCTOBER 10, 2007) —

By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times

The Advisory Planning Commission (APC) for Area A of the RDOS (Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen) says while it approves of the concept of the Willow Beach development planned for the north end of Lake Osoyoos, it would like to see the density of the project significantly lowered.
APC also wants a number of agencies' environmental and engineering concerns met.
This was the motion the committee arrived at after much debate over semantics at a meeting Tuesday night where it heard a presentation from the developers of the property.
Most members of the commission made it clear at one point or another in their discussion that density was a major concern for them.
I think it's wonderful that it's going to be developed, Peter Beckett said of the project. My concern is to do with the size of the property, the number of houses accumulating there, and the number of people accumulating there.
As it stands, the Willow beach development calls for 1,244 units, a combination of single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and condominiums on a 70-acre lot. With an estimated 2.2 people per dwelling, the population of the development would sit at just under 3,000. Both the Osoyoos Rural Official Community Plan (OCP) and the Area A zoning bylaw must be amended to allow it.
What we have to decide is are we happy with a village being put in a rural area? Bill Plaskett asked his fellow commission members. Plaskett reminded his colleagues that while the density may seem high for rural land usage, the Willow Beach development would really be a community in and of itself. He also expressed concern that whether or not the project goes through, people are going to continue to flock to the Osoyoos area, and are going to need somewhere to go.
While density seemed to be the big issue, questions of infrastructure and environmental impact also abounded. Commission members voiced their concern for the health and future of Lake Osoyoos. The Willow Beach property is a floodplain, backing onto oxbows, sensitive wetland habitat crucial to the welfare of many of the area's animal species.
Architect for the Willow Beach Development, Tim Ankenman, reassured the commission that these issues are being addressed. Ankenman explained that the Ministries of Environment, Fish and Wildlife and Transportation will all have their own requests of the developer before they approve the development application.
In his presentation, Ankenman touched on the various environmentally sustainable methods incorporated into the development's design. These include geothermal heating, 50 per cent green space on the property and even the use of electric carts for residents to navigate their way around.
This whole method is based on less reliance on the automobile, Ankenman said.
A small, commercial waterfront village is planned for the lakefront, but, as the architect emphasized, it is to be located some 450 ft. from the lake itself. The design, which is still subject to change, shows pedestrian walkways meandering throughout the property, as well as a canal. While developers initially conceived that perhaps boats could be navigated through this canal, Ankenman said this has been ruled out for environmental reasons.
The buildings would be arranged with the four- and six-storey condominium buildings (which count for about 1,000 of the proposed 1,244 units) in the centre of the development, surrounded by the smaller townhouses, duplexes and homes.
Ankenman emphasized his design places the condo buildings well away from the waterfront, and said the development would contain only downward-facing lighting, to reduce light pollution at night. The architect also said the beach would become a public one, in perpetuity, and that the mixed housing styles are meant to create an inclusive, integrative community.
We want to exclude absolutely nobody, Ankenman said.
It is the job of the APC to provide recommendations to RDOS staff on behalf of the citizens of Area A. Area A Director for RDOS, Mark Pendergraft, said Willow Beach's development application will ideally come up before the RDOS board at its next meeting Nov. 1.