Dev changes supported

There was a good crowd in attendance to hear about proposed changes to the Regal Ridge development.
A public hearing, which was held at the Sun Bowl Arena Wednesday March 23 at 7 p.m, was held to address changes to the zoning of properties located east of the town of Osoyoos in the Anarchist Mountain area, and to get public input.
Chairing the meeting was RDOS Director Eike Scheffler, who is also a resident of Anarchist Mountain.
The development in question is Regal Ridge.
Developer Adrian Erickson is proposing to increase the number of lots in that development by approximately 50 lots.
Erickson has been working on development of Regal Ridge since 2002. His vision was to create a unique rural lifestyle where nature and development can co-exist.
The first part of the proposal is to re-zone to adjust the conservation area to further protect critical habitat. The net result will be an increase in the conservation area by 25 hecatres.
The second part of the proposal is to increase the residential density in the northern area of the development.
Most of the 60-70 attendees who spoke at the hearing had praise for the development itself and for the integrity of developer Adrian Erickson, who intends to make Regal Ridge his home. Erickson currently lives in town.
Comments pointed to Erickson's skill in finding a balance between developing and protecting the area. Many of those at the meeting already living on Anarchist, along with new property owners, like what they are seeing.
The overriding concerns were whether the proposed rezoning to allow increased development will affect those already living there.
Specifically, people were concerned about the availabilty of water to all residents on Anarchist Mountain should the rezoning take place.
The pace at which the new proposed development will take place was also mentioned as a concern.
To address concerns about the availability, sustainibility and quality of water, Erickson pointed out that 94 test wells have already been drilled, without a single dry well, and are being monitored on a regular basis.
Erickson also maintained that the development will continue over the next 15 to 20 years, although some at the meeting felt that increasing both the commercial area and the density now will not allow enough time after each area is developed to assess the impacts to the environment, particularly the water.
Why do we need to re-zone now? asked more than one area resident.
Everybody has water concerns. I've done extensive studies and continue to do studies and we just find more and more water, Erickson said.
My concern has always been the same – fire.rnThe unique slope of Anarchist Mountain and the 45 degree aspect of the slope facing absolute south-west allows for a 30-30-30 combination, Erickson explained, meaning that temperatures can be over 30 degrees, under 30 per cent humidity and winds of 30 kilometers.
It's an absolute recipe for disaster and we're doing everything we can to prevent fires from sweeping across here.rnThe zoning Erickson is proposing to change, he feels, will go a long way in helping to clear away brush and debris and re-seed for weed control to reduce the fire risk.
Whether it gets developed now or ten years from now, I want to clean it up so that I can sleep at night, not worrying that the place is going to burn down, Erickson said.
When asked about water provision at a commercial building he intends to add, a lodge/pub, Erickson went on to say that when they drilled three surrounding wells they got a combined flow of about 130,000 gallons per day, of which the development intends to use approximately 2,500 per day.
Eike Scheffler spoke to any confusion that may have arisen as to the extent of the conservation areas.
Originally, the plan was made from aereal photos and maps and then when the actual surveys were done there had to be certain corrections done to tie it to survey points on the ground, Scheffler said.
If there is a confusion as to the acreage, it's not intentional. We just have to update it as we go along.rnScheffler stressed that the proposal is a refinement of the original plans, not a change to the entire configuration.
The original development started with a clustering concept, meaning small lots with lots of area for recreation and conservation, and a covenant.
When we adopted in this community an official community plan, one of the conditions was there has to be a final management plan for the conservation areas, Scheffler said.
As the project evolves, it's up to the developer, the local community and the regional district to agree on this final plan, Scheffler explained.
In support of what Erickson has done, Scheffler added that Erickson has a fire protection and fuel management plan which follows the provincial forestry fuel manage-ment program.
He has also agreed to add five monitoring wells, designed to test static water and quality of water.
If any quality or static level disappears, he will have to adjust his development.
Erickson also has the support of local naturalist Sherry Linn, originally one of Erickson's greatest critics, who said she is amazed at what is out there in the conservation area.
The eight-member RDOS board will weigh all the concerns and comments and will make a decision on the re-zoning April 7.