AGENCIES NEED TO GET TOGETHER ON LOCATION FOR MARIPOSA
(OSOYOOS TIMES — October 11, 2006) —
There is good and bad news about the Mariposa seniors care facility proposed for Osoyoos.
First the good news: Town officials and the public are delighted with the size and look of the facility.
At a public consultation last month, many citizens said they really like the look displayed in the architect's drawings of the Mariposa Manor and Lodge.
And in our story in this edition of the Times, Mayor John Slater notes that Osoyoos is in desperate need of this type of facility.
But the bad news is: both the public and our town's leaders are having doubts about the wisdom of putting this facility in its proposed spot at the southwest corner of the intersection of Highways 3 and 97.
In his strongly worded letter of concern to Interior Health, Mayor Slater has not only put forward the initial concerns expressed by officials and citizens “ that the busy intersection and speeding traffic will pose a safety threat to slow-moving Mariposa residents trying to cross Highway 97 to get to stores “ but also some other problems that suggest the location could be a problem.
Slater talks about noise, drift of spray from adjacent orchards, and the current lack of high-quality water supply to that site in the summertime.
To be fair, Mariposa developer Will McKay says these aren't unusual issues in zoning for a major project, and he says his Baltic Properties company and the Town are working through these concerns very well.
But Council is also concerned about not having been 'in the loop' during Interior Health's consideration of the Baltic proposal.
While the location is more Baltic's doing that IH's, more open dialogue during the whole process might have avoided the problem.
The hope now is that the Council, IH and Baltic get together and deal with the issues at this location “ and quite possibly consider a better spot for this facility in Osoyoos.
