Osoyoos Town Council gave third reading on Monday to a zoning bylaw that would allow a scaled-down development to proceed on Lakeshore Drive across from Walnut Beach Resort. (Keith Lacey photo)
A controversial multi-unit housing development along Lakeshore Drive took another big step towards becoming a reality Monday when Town of Osoyoos council voted unanimously in favour of third reading of altering zoning bylaws and the Town’s Official Community Plan.
The proposed development would be constructed on 14.2 acres located across from the Walnut Beach Resort on Lakeshore Drive on a former par-three golf course.
After two public hearings in which many residents and business owners who live along Lakeshore Drive or near it voiced their concerns over increased traffic and environmental damage, council has voted in favour of moving ahead with the multi-million dollar development, which has been scaled down significantly from its original size and scope over the past two months.
Alain Cunningham, the Town’s director of planning and development, said the applicant – Chris Morardian on behalf of Vancouver developer Richard Coglon – has agreed to further reduce their proportion of tourist residential units in the development.
The applicant’s previous building plan presented at a second public hearing on March 20, allowed for tourist accommodation units in every one of eight phases, with the sole exception of phase five.
“Now, in the new plan, the applicant has agreed to remove all previous resort secondary dwellings in single family homes and resort two-family homes from development phases 1 and 2,” said Cunningham. “Instead, only single-family and two-family homes would now be allowed in these first two phases.
“The results of these changes are to significantly lower the comparative share of tourist accommodations down from 90-94 units to 38-42 units. The overall number of total dwellings would also be decreased somewhat from 218-230 units, but this is somewhat misleading because under our zoning bylaw, single-family and two-family homes can, by right, include secondary dwellings.”
Rental accommodation units are only available for long-term residential monthly leases under the Landlord Tenancy Act, compared with minimum one-week tourist rentals in resort dwellings and it is not known at this point how many secondary dwellings would be constructed, but the applicant advises they would be offered as a marketing option to purchasers wanting support to pay the mortgage, he said.
“The end result of all of the recent changes is to create a more balanced development concept for 4217 Lakeshore Drive,” said Cunningham. “The reduced share of tourist accommodation will better complement rather than compete with the traditional hotel/motel sector.
“Indeed, hotel and motel operators could buy units in the two-storey residential/commercial complexes to house their seasonal workers in the summer and rent them out to snowbirds in the winter. Very importantly, the new secondary dwellings can be rented to persons who can’t afford, or do not want a freehold home of their own. The applicant has frequently repeated his intention to keep unit sizes small for affordability.”
This development will bring a currently unused, but highly valuable and expensive property into full productive use for housing community residents, attracting newcomers to town and contribute to tourism, he said.
The applicant will follow through on a promise to fund a riparian wetland assessment of the existing two ponds on the lower part of the property as these ponds will be an important component of the applicant’s storm water management planning and part of their promised 1.75-acre park, said Cunningham.
There will be no further plans to build a marina and concerns over traffic will be addressed by revisiting the Town’s 2010 Lakeshore Drive Pedestrian Safety Review to consider worthwhile options for mitigating traffic impacts, especially improved crosswalk safety concerns, he said.
No view planes of Osoyoos Lake will be affected by construction of any home or tower, he said.
Coun. C. J. Rhodes said he still has many concerns about increased traffic that will result during construction and once homes are built.
Cunningham said some options include installing several new crosswalks along Lakeshore Drive, installing warning signs about slowing down and watching for pedestrians and working with the Ministry of Transportation to improve traffic flow at the intersection of Hwy. 3 and Lakeshore Drive.
The Town would be more than willing to work with the Ministry about building another entrance road to Lakeshore Drive off of 45th Street, he said.
Coun. Mike Campol said he’s pleased there will be a detailed riparian assessment report completed.
Cunningham said he’s confident all key environmental concerns brought forward by neighbours during the two public hearings will be addressed in that report
Coun. Carol Youngberg said she’s very pleased the size and scope of this development has been reduced dramatically, particularly the number of rental accommodations.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
