— More time set for rural OCP discussions —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — March 7, 2007) —
By Lawrence McMahenrnOsoyoos Times
Bowing to pressure from a packed and raucous Feb. 28 open house on proposed changes to the rural Osoyoos Official Community Plan (OCP), the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) and its District 'A' Director have cancelled the planned March 13 public hearing on the changes.
In light of the strong reaction to proposed wording changes to the OCP, Director Mark Pendergraft says he wants to give people more time to consider the revisions (see his 'Rural Report' on Page 20 in this Osoyoos Times).
About 80 rural residents jammed into a meeting room at the Sonora Community Centre for last Wednesday's open house, looking for details on two bylaws that would change the wording in the OCP for the Regional District's Area 'A', surrounding Osoyoos.
The bylaws put forward clarifications and changes in the OCP's sections on subdividing and clustering development on rural land parcels, and development near Osoyoos Lake.
The RDOS board had already given first and second reading to the bylaws on Feb. 1. Pendergraft now says he is rescinding those two readings of the OCP changes.
On-hand to answer questions at the open house were District 'A' RDOS Director Mark Pendergraft, his alternate director Teresa Salamone, RDOS Planning Services Manager Susanne Theurer, and Planner Chris Garrish.
After more than a half-hour of people milling around and chatting in small groups, Theurer took the floor to encourage people to fill out response surveys and to attend the planned March 13 public hearing.
At that point she and Pendergraft became the target for an outcry of loud, frustrated comments and questions from the crowd “ many wondering about an apparent shift of development approval power to RDOS in Penticton away from the local Area Planning Commission, and others wondering why they hadn't heard of these changes until now, when they're just weeks from final approval by the Board.
One woman yelled, We live here and this is the first we've heard of this. Why has the Board already given it first and second reading?rnAnother shouted at Theurer, There was no chance for the public to have input on this whatsoever.rnRural resident Eike Scheffler, Pendergraft's predecessor as Area 'A' Director, shouted out that the OCP changes would bring a major shift in power to the RDOS Board and planners in Penticton.
Half the people aren't here, because they're away in the winter. The community didn't ask for this. Why is it being rammed through? Scheffler asked loudly.
Theurer stuck to her initial message, telling people that they could have their say at the public hearing March 13.
Pendergraft told the upset people that, If this is not a direction that people want to go, we will take that into account.rnBut while tempers subsided, the evening meeting dragged on, and at some point the RDOS representatives decided to cancel the formal public hearing on March 13, to provide more time for information to go to rural residents and gather more feedback.
Scheffler and long-time rural activist Beryl Slack say the so-called clarification of the rural OCP actually contains substantial changes that would create a labyrinth of legalistic criteria rural residents would have to satisfy before they could subdivide their land or develop near the lake.
People (at the open house) were extremely angered, Slack says.
It's a major and drastic change being done without people's input, and the RDOS planners in Penticton have closed the door on anything that they don't want, she adds.
We don't want change without input, Slack says.
Scheffler says that prior to the RDOS Board's consent to first and second reading of the OCP amendment bylaws at its Feb. 1 meeting, no notice was given to the residents of our area nor was public input sought or allowed into these documents.rnScheffler also says the bylaws add unclear wording that leaves property owners having to satisfy an unspecified comprehensive review process and takes approval of all development out of local hands and gives it to the Regional District Board and planners.
Under the new rules, he wonders whether the proposed development of the Willow Beach property would be allowed, for instance.
The roadblocks to be thrown in the way before any new rural development or subdivision approvals will be granted are enormous and will require much expensive legal input and interpretive effort that are largely beyond the average resident's comprehension, he says.
