OSOYOOS TIMES-September 8, 2010

By Laurena Weninger – Osoyoos Times

The public hearing for the Oasis medical-commercial-residential development was held at the Sonora Community Centre on Sept. 7 and was attended by more than 120 people.
About 54 people spoke out to tell Osoyoos council just what their thoughts were about the proposed development.
Twenty-two people spoke in favour of the development and 12 people expressed reservations.
But the public is going to have to wait to hear what Osoyoos council thinks about the matter.
Chris Block, from Vancouver’s Chandler Associate Architecture Inc., spoke first, giving a 15-minute rundown of the development on behalf of the developer, Desert Lagoons Holdings.
The project would be located on a 2.37-hectare property at 9110 and 9120 Main Street, next to Peanut Lake, and would be built over 10 years.
Phase 1 is to be a five-storey medical-commercial building.
Phase 2 would be an eight-storey residential building, Phase 3 is a six-storey residential building and Phase 4 would be a 10-storey residential building.
In all, the project would contain 237 residential units.
The first 13 people to approach the microphone were in favour of the development.
“As many new residents have discovered, getting a doctor is very difficult,” said Osoyoos’s Pat Wycherley.
Pastor Phil Johnson from the Osoyoos Baptist Church also spoke in favour of the development, saying he thinks the project will provide some modest-priced housing and long-term, well-paying jobs.
He also liked the health care component, calling it a “great asset” to the community.
Dr. Jason Bartsch – a local dentist and the son of one of the project’s developers – Dr. Fred Hamilton and Dr. Garnet Tarr also spoke strongly in favour of a developed health care centre.
Osoyoos resident Sue McKortoff was the first to speak out against the proposal.
She said she liked the idea of the development and more medical services, but is concerned about the height of the buildings and resulting lack of green space.
All 12 of the speakers who spoke out against the development were primarily concerned about the height.
“Does the 10-storey building need to be 10 storeys or can there be a compromise with this building?” asked Dr. Martha Collins, a chiropractor at Sunshine Valley Family Chiropractic.
Vera Ryan said she thinks there are positive aspects to the development and pointed out most of those speaking in favour of the development made that decision because they like the medical component.
But, she pointed out, even towns that have doctors leaving town or retiring – for example, the recent departure of Dr. Thomas Francis from Oliver – are currently having trouble attracting replacements.
She referenced Francis’ recent goodbye letter where he states he has made “every available effort to attract another physician” to take his place and has “been unable to do so” as proof.
Ryan wants to know who the doctors are that will supposedly be coming to fill the clinic space.
Peter Gajda, who lives on Vedette Drive, is throwing “guarded support” behind the development.
He doesn’t like the height or the “build it and they will come” aspect of filling the proposed health centre with medical services.
In addition to the verbal opinions given at the hearing, hundreds of letters of support, signatures on petitions and individual letters in favour and against the matter were entered into public record at the hearing.
Coun. Ted Cronmiller said he was “literally amazed” by the positive response to the development.
That’s why he made a motion to waive a 24-hour notice requirement and have council give second and third readings – while things were still “fresh in (council’s) minds” – to an amendment to Osoyoos’s Official Community Plan, a zoning amendment bylaw as well as a phased-development agreement bylaw that would allow for the project to be built.
But in order for the readings to be given, the motion to waive the notice had to be unanimously approved by council – and it was not.
The matter is scheduled for further consideration at the Sept. 20 council meeting.
[email protected]