Times Chronicle Staff
Wine tasting, housing, and a wonky intersection are topics that Oliver town council hopes to discuss with provincial ministers this fall.
Last week council approved a list of items it wishes to bring up at the Union of BC Municipalities convention.
One is a secondary wine tasting room that council previously brought to the government’s attention without much success.
The request is to consider Oliver as a pilot community to implement secondary wine tasting rooms that would allow access to multiple wineries under one licence.
Councillor Larry Schwartzenberger said there are current moratoriums on issuance of new wine store licences, but said Oliver should take another crack at the tasting room idea.
Councillor Aimee Grice said she would like to schedule a meeting with the minister of housing about an affordable housing requirement (stipulation) for multi-unit developments in Oliver. However, she admitted this may put the community at a disadvantage where developers would take their business elsewhere.
Then she suggested this could be a provincial requirement.
Mayor Martin Johansen said it’s worth having a conversation about non-market rentals that are lacking in rural towns.
Councillor Dave Mattes said he understands the need, but agreed this would put Oliver at a serious disadvantage.
“I’m not sure if it’s the business of the town to get involved in setting rental rates . . . it’s not the role of council.”
But Grice said something needs to happen to “burst that bubble a bit because people are not able to find a place to live right now.”
Another topic that council will raise at the convention is the intersection at Black Sage Road and McKinney/Spillway Road. Council previously expressed its intent to improve this intersection by making it easier for motorists to navigate.
One suggestion was a roundabout.
Johansen said they plan to set up a meeting with the Ministry of Transportation to discuss it. He suggested involving the Osoyoos Indian Band in the conversation.
