Council has decided that a development at Peanut Lake will not be allowed to implement any age restrictions. (Precision Building Design)
By Vanessa Broadbent
Osoyoos Times
A new townhome development on Peanut Lake will not be allowed to have age restrictions, town council has decided.
At their Sept. 16 meeting, council was asked to authorize issuance of a development permit to the project at 8000 Vedette Drive.
The strata development will consist of 54 townhome units in 14 separate buildings with up to 28 rental suites, as well as a common area with a swimming pool and hot tub, director of planning and development Gina MacKay said in a report to council.
• Read more: Housing prominent theme of Official Community Plan launch
Coun. Brian Harvey pointed out that once the development is constructed, a future strata board could move to restrict children in the development.
He asked if council could ensure the development would remain family-friendly and with no age restrictions.
“My concern is once it turns over from the developer to the condo board, they are then free to work within their constitutional bylaws to do anything they want and we’ve seen that happen recently in this community and it wasn’t pleasant,” Harvey said.
“I don’t want to hold a hatchet over the developer’s head but my concern is once it gets turned over to the strata association all bets are off.”
Council has decided that a development at Peanut Lake will not be allowed to implement any age restrictions. (Precision Building Design)
With two rows of units three storeys high, MacKay said the subdivision is developed to specifically accommodate families.
“That was the whole point of it,” she said.
Coun. CJ Rhodes shared support for Harvey’s suggestion.
“Once a strata take over management and control of those, sometimes plans change, we’ve clearly demonstrated in our community that’s entirely possible. It always ends badly for some group of people,” he said.
• Read more: No Vacancy: ‘Drunk or not, stop pissing on the floor’
CAO Alan Chabot noted the issue should have been addressed earlier, but added that securing housing for families is necessary.
“It’s really important going forward that we have multi-generational housing in our community and a place for everyone and this is a great opportunity to provide some family housing close to downtown,” he said.
After discussing various options, council voted to add a restrictive covenant to the title of the property that will not permit age restrictions.
Traffic concerns
Concerns about increased traffic on Vedette Drive were raised at a public hearing in December.
Road improvements are planned to start next spring and the developer has given the town $200,000 towards the improvements.
MacKay told council that she’s spoken to “at least half a dozen, if not more,” Vedette Drive residents.
“We’ve shown them our draft of the plan for those improvements,” she said. “I think they feel a little better now about it, in fact they’re kind of excited about actually having a sidewalk.”
• Read more: Petition calls on town to address sewage smell
MacKay said she’s also spoken with the developer of the nearby Lakeview Plaza, accessible from Vedette Drive via Valiant Lane.
“They’re okay with delineating a road through the parking lot if need be but they want an opportunity to see what the impact is first,” MacKay said.
The developer said they are also considering adding another building in the middle of the parking lot, MacKay said.
“I think probably we’re going to have an opportunity to acquire other benefits to the community as that whole area kind of redevelops itself. I’m feeling very comfortable about it.”
Construction of Peanut Lake Developments is planned to start this fall.
