-Developer already advertising Osoyoos project on website-

OSOYOOS TIMES-April 23, 2008-

By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times

After a public hearing filled with detracting voices, Osoyoos town councillors voted to postpone second and third readings of a development proposed for the former water slide property on Lakeshore Drive at their meeting on April 21.
The hearing directly preceded council's regular meeting and nearly a dozen Osoyoos and rural Osoyoos residents spoke out against the proposed development, where Vancouver-based development company Westmana would place 95 condominium units in two four-storey buildings on the property.
One structure, a V-shaped building, would be located with its point near Lakeshore Drive while the other, a more rectangular structure, would be located at the top of a hill along the back of the lot.
Keith Hood told the hearing the view from his 44th Street home, which is located just outside Osoyoos town boundaries, would be completely obstructed by the building proposed for the back of the lot.
They're going to take my million-dollar view and sell it for $50 million, he said.
Hood and several other speakers said they could handle a two-storey building, but not a four-storey one.
The first issue has been what I find is a very unfair process for property owners, said Grant Rutherglen in his turn at the microphone.
Like Hood, Rutherglen said his home, located just outside of town boundaries, would experience diminished views and property values as a result of the proposed development.
Rutherglen went on to explain that he and his neighbours had only found out about the proposed development a few weeks ago through local media.
He noted that Westmana Development Corp. founder Willie Kwun had made reference in his opening presentation to an eight-month working relationship with Osoyoos town council.
A lot of people except homeowners on my street knew what was happening, Rutherglen said.
He proceeded to read a list of principles from Osoyoos's Official Community Plan which he said the proposed development contradicted.
These included clauses about new developments not imposing negative effects on existing neighbourhoods and maintaining balance between the two.
This development doesn't adhere to the OCP at present and therefore should not be approved, Rutherglen told the hearing.
He also referred to a number of guiding development principles from the Westmana website which he said the proposed development contradicted such as using investor-community collaboration.
Rutherglen also said he was disconcerted to see the company was advertising an Osoyoos development on its website, prior to council approval.
Indeed, a visit to the Westmana website showed one paragraph which read:
Westmana is actively developing over 77.9 acres of urban land in Squamish, Kelowna and Osoyoos for a total of 3.5 million buildable feet of space including over 3,400 residential units.
Other speakers introduced a host of concerns, including light pollution, water runoff and increased boat traffic.
Where are these people going to go when they want to go to the beach? asked Carleen Johnson, developer of the Island View RV Park and local Strata representative.
Still more speakers raised concerns that the developers would attempt to buy a section of public beach from the town, since the property contains no beach.
We don't have any intentions of turning the beach into a private beach, Kwun told the crowd. He also said he would be willing to meet with concerned landowners on an individual basis.
After a series of confusing and aborted motions, councillors Stu Wells, Ted Cronmiller and Dick Flintoft voted to postpone second and third readings of the development until council's next meeting on May 5.
Coun. Allan Carswell was absent and Mayor John Slater did not participate in the public hearing or the discussion of the proposed project, citing conflict of interest.
Slater's sister is one of the affected landowners who spoke at the hearing.
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