Large dock approved at Casa del Mila Oro development
In a split vote, Town Council approved an application from Casa del Mila Oro, on Lakeshore Drive, to construct a dock on Osoyoos Lake adjacent to their development.
At the March 6 meeting, Councillors Stu Wells and Dick Flintoft supported the application, but Councillors Ted Cronmiller and Allan Carswell opposed it. Mayor John Slater supported the motion and broke the tie.
Carswell questioned the move to approve the new dock without a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) report and before the town's new dock bylaw was in place. However, Wells said changes to the applicant's original plans have ensured the new dock conforms to the coming bylaw.
The application for the dock went first to Land and Water British Columbia (LWBC), which then requested comments from the town. But Flintoft asked if council has authority over docks anyway, since the province has approved dock applications in the past.
Opposition to Casa del Mila Oro's application came from a nearby property owner, sending the applicant back to the drawing board to revise the proposed dock length (178 feet) and shape to a 118-foot, T-shaped structure.
In the new proposal, the dock extends 103 feet from the shoreline. The leading edge of the T-shaped structure is 88 feet in width, and the dock includes a raised ramp to allow seven feet of clearance for pedestrians to walk underneath.
Town staff recommended that council support the newly proposed dock, subject to it being centred on the property to the lake.
I have been listening since I got on council to concerns about our lake and shoreline and I speak against this proposal, said Cronmiller.
Every time we have one of these resorts or condominium projects they want a dock and want to put pilings into the lake. I don't see that by us putting more pilings into the lake it will improve our riparian situation or improve the look of our lake.rnCarswell pointed to the irony of having just discussed the need for a QEP study before dredging of a pond on Cottonwood Drive, yet no QEP study being requested for the dock proposal.
He added. At some point, if we want to save this lake, we have to get serious about it or we're going to have docks out everywhere. I would sure like to see us get guidelines finished and in place before we continue to approve more docks.
We have a dock bylaw that's coming, and I would just like us to say to the applicant 'at this time we don't support your application.'
But Wells noted the applicant had already dealt with the planning department and changed the layout to bring the dock within the new guidelines.
Flintoft acknowledged the confusion over what authority the town has to control docks. We have a right to comment on the matter but we've seen in the past where we've rejected one of the docks and LWBC turned around and approved it. We seem to have zero authority.
Flintoft was referring to a previous referral request from LWBC, where the town was asked to comment on an application from Casa del Lago for a dock extending 229 feet into Osoyoos Lake. Although the town didn't support the application, LWBC ignored its comments and approved the dock.
Mayor John Slater said, according to Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), rather than being a negative influence, docks have an important role to play in fish habitat. I agree it's very confusing. Why wouldn't a 100-foot dock need some kind of an impact study? But I guess DFO has done their research and has said that docks are an appropriate use of the shoreline, so they don't require a QEP to go in and analyse what a developer is actually doing.
