Another parcel of land on the shores of Osoyoos Lake will be subdivided, potentially leading to its development.
The land, which is approximately 2.12 ha in area and is approximately 1 km south of the Town of Osoyoos, has an orchard on the western side of the property and vacant land on the east.
Owners of the lot located at 601 6th Avenue have applied and received approval from the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) to rezone and change the Electoral Area “A” Official Community Plan (OCP) to separate the agricultural land from the vacant land.
The whole property has been split-zoned with the western portion designated for future residential development since the mid-1990’s. The recent decision to separate this area from the agricultural area will facilitate its potential development.
The applicant said in their application to the RDOS that the proposed changes “will not have a negative impact on the use and enjoyment of adjacent or surrounding properties, as the agricultural farm will continue to be leased by a local farmer.”
During the RDOS board discussion, Brad Elenko, land development consultant, explained that the RDOS had received a letter from the applicant dealing with a perceived issue.
The letter explains that there are 10 dump trucks of fill material currently on the property. The applicant claims in the letter that it will be removed, and it’s not causing a dangerous situation.
A neighbour of the property spoke at the public hearing that took place the morning of the decision on the subject.
He expressed his grievance about this fill, stating that his home is right beside the property and there is “a lot more,” he said, “75 dump loads not 10.”
Now that the changes to the OCP and rezoning have been read a third time, the application will have to get approval from the Ministry of Transportation and Infastructure (MoTI) as the property is within 800 metres of Highway 97.
This is mostly just a formality as the reason this stipulation is in place is so that unnecessary traffic backup is not created by adding drive throughs or excessive amounts of turn offs from the highway.
The RDOS noted that while the area is not within a designated Growth Area under the South Okanagan Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) Bylaw, “the residential zoning as well as a commitment by the Town of Osoyoos to provide water and sewer service to the site predates the implementation of the RGS.”
The agricultural portion of the parcel will remain within the ALR, but it’s 0.9 ha size is not consistent with an Agricultural designation which requires it be at least 4.0 ha.
Therefore the property will be considered a rural residential parcel and zoned small holdings (SH) because under this designation “agriculture is a permitted accessory use”.
