Over 100 people attended On Point, the Town of Osoyoos’ Official Community Plan launch event at the Sonora Community Centre on Sept. 12. Osoyoos residents discussed their vision for the future of the town. (Dale Boyd / Osoyoos Times)
By Dale Boyd
Osoyoos Times
Warmth, both in weather and hospitality, is one of the highlights of living in Osoyoos according to over 100 people who came out to participate in On Point, the Official Community Plan launch event on Sept. 12.
Gathering at the Sonora Community Centre, residents had a chance to have their say and collaborate with each other on a vision for the future of Osoyoos.
Of course, every community has their challenges and one theme was prominent: housing.
Specifically, accommodations for staff at local establishments.
“We need some more affordable housing in this town. I work at the Osoyoos Golf Club and I can tell you it sucks when you see that Jojo’s (Café) is closed due to lack of staff and a lot of that is due to lack of housing,” said Audrey McCulloch, who works in marketing and member services for the Osoyoos Golf Club. “At the golf club we have the exact same problem.”
Employees staying with staff, and staff giving up basements and spare rooms for co-workers, are the current state of affairs at the golf club she said.
• Read more: No Vacancy: ‘Drunk or not, stop pissing on the floor’
Recreation and the cultivation of a small-town, welcoming aesthetic were among the highlights McCulloch put forward, representing the five or so people at her table.
“It does feel like everyone is very loving. I think that stems from the fact that we are all from somewhere else, ultimately, except for a few exceptions,” McCulloch said.
That was the exact story of local business owner Steven Mifsud.
“My story started … I was on my way from the east to the west and I stopped here for fuel, and I never left,” Mifsud said. “That’s honestly how it came to be.”
He called Osoyoos a “special place,” specifically highlighting the relationship with the town and the Osoyoos Indian Band.
“First Nations land, along with tourism, it’s unique in so many ways,” Mifsud said. “I’ve had the opportunity to travel quite extensively and this is the special place.”
Visitors from around the world coming to Osoyoos makes it a dynamic place, Mifsud said, which can lead to some questions of the identity of town.
• Read more: Osoyoos tourism numbers steady despite fires
“We are having a lot of discussions about housing, but before that, we have a lot of individuals coming in as retirees, and then we have a lot of young blood trying to come in. And there seems to be a bit of a conflict,” Mifsud said. “A community needs both.”
Mifsud lives in between the age dichotomy, his mother is 88 and living in Osoyoos while his 20-year-old son travels the world and returns to Osoyoos.
“What we need to do is evolve and understand how can we make this work? How do we take the experience from people who are retired and couple it with the energy of people who want to make this place, and keep it, vibrant,” Mifsud said. “I would say evolve that relationship. That, I believe, is a big deal.”
An urgent-care medical clinic, an indoor pool and some changes to ease traffic congestion in certain parts of town, including Main Street, were also prominent themes among the comments put forward.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said it was “terrific” to see so many attendees at the Sonora Centre on a Thursday night.
“So it’s a year-long plan to (create the new OCP), but what a cool evening. And you know what? There’s lots of people here I don’t know, and that’s even good. You want people that maybe are fairly new here. I’ve lived here a long time,” McKortoff said. “I certainly know quite a few of the people here, for a long time, but there are lots that are fairly new to town and way to go, way to get involved.”
• Read more: Osoyoos’ first pot shop planned to open by end of 2019
Housing is the buzz word around this planning document, McKortoff said.
“Absolutely we need to be looking at how we can help to make various forms of housing. The town is not building houses, let’s put it that way,” McKortoff said. “Looking at this plan, how can we entice builders and people that might like to come and do that? BC Housing is involved, and how can we make good land-use decisions to help with that? Those are the kinds of things that are so important.”
Gina MacKay, director of planning development services updated town council on Monday at the committee of the whole on the progress of the OCP survey.
“I’m happy to report that to date we have had 234 respondents to our online survey. Which represents about 4.6 per cent of our population. I have to tell you, I know that sounds like a small number, but it’s actually quite a high number,” MacKay said. “I’ve been doing these for a long time, if you can get anywhere over five per cent that’s a really great showing.”
The online survey continues to accept submissions until Oct. 6.
“No surprise here, affordability and more diverse forms of housing are trending right now,” MacKay said, with 66 per cent of respondents calling affordability the most important consideration while looking at housing in the community.
As well, 35 per cent of respondents noted there are impacts with short-term and vacation rentals.
“It’s really interesting when looking at impacts on affordable housing, people don’t seem to see the correlation between those two,” MacKay said.
Short-term rentals are defined by the town as 30-day rentals or less, MacKay said, and a further survey is coming looking more in-depth at housing issues in Osoyoos.
