WILLOW BEACH FACES THE FIRST OF MANY HURDLES
(OSOYOOS TIMES — OCTOBER 10, 2007) —
The people of Osoyoos and surrounding area are watching with great interest as the proposal for a huge development at Willow Beach is now being unveiled by the developers and begins its long and winding trek through the political decision-making process.
Step 1 in the approval “ or disapproval “ process began Tuesday evening when the detailed plan for a 1,244-unit community of homes, condos, duplexes, townhouses, stores and a winery went before the Advisory Planning Commission (APC) for the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen's (RDOS) Area A.
Even before the APC members dealt Tuesday with the developers' ideas for the 70-acre former Quintal property at the north end of Osoyoos Lake, the RDOS planning staff made it clear in their initial review that they have major concerns with the nature and extent of the proposal.
While we have accused RDOS planners of being too controlling in the past, we must admit that the scope of the Willow Beach project does call for some scrutiny by those responsible for guarding the land, water, fish and fowl at the headwaters of our lake. And it's not just RDOS with a role there. It includes at least a couple of provincial government ministries and possibly a number of other agencies.
The Willow Beach developers must recognize the legitimacy of this scrutiny. After all, they're proposing to do nothing less than build a town with a potential population of nearly 3,000 people right on top of a marshy floodplain in one of the most environmentally sensitive areas in the South Okanagan.
But at the same time, the regulators should recognize that these developers have been trying to satisfy much of the need for caution and care when it comes to building on this spot. In the early months of this year they were open with their public dialogue process, and they have suggested all along they want to be sensitive to the needs of the environment and the wishes of the people.
Osoyoosites will be watching to see if the developers can convince the politicians and planners that a huge community should be allowed to spring up at Willow Beach. They have many high hurdles to clear, and the initial APC call for scaling down the size of the development doesn't augur well for them.
And there are likely other major lakeside communities just waiting to be built. Can they be done in a way that will protect the water and ambience that until now has made this place so special?
