— Advisory Design Panel will advise staff, not developers —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — Dec. 27, 2006) —
By Julie TurnerrnOsoyoos Times
In a move Mayor John Slater says will streamline the development application process, Council has shifted some control from an appointed citizen committee to Town planning staff.
At its December 18 meeting Council voted to modify the role of the Town's Advisory Design Panel (ADP), which reviews the form and character of new development applications to ensure the plans fit with Osoyoos' façade guidelines.
The group will now review development plans and advise staff “ rather than developers “ on new projects.
Mayor John Slater said the Town has met with the ADP to go over the new terms of reference, which he felt were accepted by the members.
This is the third and most significant change to the committee's terms of reference this year.
The Town decided that because it now has two qualified planners on staff to review development applications and see that they follow design guidelines, the panel has lost some of its original purpose.
Slater told the Osoyoos Times the committee was established in the early 1990s because we wanted Osoyoos to be a unique community with a theme.
The Spanish theme, with its red tile roofs, black wrought iron railings and white stucco was a start, but in 1991 we went to Palm Desert, California and began incorporating more of the south-western look into our buildings.rnThe early ADP was made up of Arts Council members, and was created before the Town had planners on staff, Slater explains.
The Town felt it needed to have someone to review the emerging new look and to help devise a palette of colours that would be complementary and be used on future buildings.
Slater says the committee's role expanded over the years and now also includes looking at other issues, such as trees and landscaping.
Although Slater adds there were no conflicts of interest between panel members and development proponents and no particular development application he had concerns about, he feels the changes to the panel's terms of reference will make it easier for it to work with Council by first making recommendations to staff.
Council never had the chance to see the various committee members' opinions. All we would receive from the committee was a consensus, and that did not necessarily reflect all the views.
Slater feels now that the panel will be meeting with planning staff, the staff can bring various options to Council for consideration, rather than just one final opinion.
Development applicants will continue to discuss their projects and make presentations to the ADP, and the panel chair “ now Assistant Planner Steve Shannon rather than a citizen “ will consult with the panel afterwards.
The change also means any revised development plans can be resubmitted to the planning department, rather than having to go back to the panel.
ADP Past Chair Margaret Chadsey, formerly the Town's Planning Associate, feels the Town responded to the panel's concerns, which were raised after Council presented it with a draft of the new terms of reference in October.
There was some confusion that maybe we weren't doing what Council expected of us, but Council has apologized for any confusion the new terms caused.
She adds the first meeting under the panel's new structure was held last Tuesday evening, to review the colours of the proposed Watermark Beach Resort.
She says it will be up to Council to decide if the ADP is still needed in the future, but many communities rely on the advice of such a committee.
I always felt the panel was valuable, and I appreciated its role when I was working in Development Services. We work with change all the time, and I don't think this should diminish our role or importance to the community, Chadsey says.
Slater agrees the town still has a need for the ADP. The look of the town is important. Planners are planners, but experts on the design panel bring their own experience and ideas to the table.
