-Mayor, developers look to start sewage project-

OSOYOOS TIMES-August 27, 2008-

By Paul EverestrnOsoyoos Times

Despite being voted down twice earlier this month, the Willow Beach Resort development slated for the head of Osoyoos Lake finally passed third reading before the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) rural board of directors at a meeting on Aug. 21.
Following a failed alternate motion to have the developers, Vancouver's Georgia Laine Developments, reconsider the density of the 1,088-unit project due to concerns about the resort's potential environmental impact, six directors voted in favour of the development while two voted against it.
But many at the meeting agreed that bringing the application back for third reading a third time was unusual.
On Aug. 7, the zoning and Official Community Plan amendments necessary for the development to proceed were voted down in a 4-4 vote.
One of those who voted against the application was Duncan MacArthur, an alternate for Area G Director Joe Nitcsh who was absent from the meeting but was reportedly in favour of the development.
RDOS Chair Dan Ashton called a recess and MacArthur contacted Nitsch.
Nitsch relayed his preference for the project to MacArthur and the application was brought back to the table where it was voted down in a second 4-4 tie.
It was then decided that no further decisions be made on the application until the next meeting.
Before the third reading vote was tabled again on Aug. 21, Area C Director Allan Patton, who along with Area E Director Tom Chapman voted against the development concept all three times, questioned why the idea of decreasing the density might make the developers unwilling to help hook up 121 homes to the planned Northwest Sewage Project.
Such a situation had been suggested by Mark Pendergraft, rural director for Area A.
Patton also told the board he didn't buy arguments in favour of passing the development about time running out on both a pledged $4.5 million grant from the provincial government for the sewage project and an agreement with property owners who own land where easements have been allotted for the main sewage pipe.
I certainly don't believe for a second that that easement (agreement) couldn't be extended, Patton said.
In April, the Town of Osoyoos made an agreement with the developers that if the application is passed, the developers would put several million dollars towards hooking up homes along the lake's northwest shore to the sewage project.
Osoyoos mayor and RDOS director John Slater, although unable to vote on the application, had argued that the government grant and the easement agreements will expire by the end of October.
Slater also told the board that through agreements made with the developer, up to 300 properties in Area A would have good water through a proposed twinning plan, there would be fire protection for the Willow Beach area and people in areas A and C would have access to a public beach.
And, Slater said, losing the easements would mean the main sewage pipe would need to go under the lake.
Chapman, however, pointed out that there are water and gas pipes running under bodies of water throughout the Okanagan Valley and due to current technology, those pipes are inexpensive and safe.
In the end, after a failed attempt by Patton to postpone the reading again, Nitsch asked to bring the third reading motion back to the table and, along with Area H Director Gerri Logan, provided the 6-2 favourable majority.
The sewer project will move forward now, Slater said following the vote, adding that he had called the Town's engineering services right after the motion was passed.
They'll be starting this project right away. We need to get it started before the end of October.rnSlater said the project will proceed in a phased approach and the first step would be to get an irrevocable letter of credit from the developers so that when a new sewage facility is needed to handle the development, they'll end up paying for it.
So if they develop up to 300 units in the first two, three years, we'll be able to take that capacity.rnTim Ankenman, the resort's chief architect, said he was happy with the board's decision.
We've said for a long time that the project's right for the site, right for the community and it's right for the environment, he said.
As for recurring concerns about the project's density, he said it will take many, many years for the maximum number of units for the site to be realized.
The next step, Ankenman added, was to get the sewer underway so that we can stop contaminating the lake and we'll be looking carefully at which phase makes the most sense to start with.rnAs for construction on the resort, Ankenman said he hopes building will begin in the spring and 80 units could be built during the first phase depending on the market, as the development is being built out on market demand.
The dedication of public lands, including environmentally sensitive areas, will take place upon final adoption of the application, he said.
Pendergraft said a date for fourth and final reading will not be set until the application receives provincial approval.
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