|
Call for rural services
requires Westside’s input
By Jason Luciw - Kelowna Capital News -
Published: November 25, 2008
The call for a sewer feasibility study in the Brent Road area
south of Peachland is proving unpopular with Westside
Mayor-elect Doug Findlater.
Findlater said that the study should not proceed without
consultation happening first with Westside, Peachland and other
users of the Westside sewer treatment plant.
Findlater said he could not support extending sewers to
residents in the Brent Road rural area when some Westside
ratepayers have been contributing to sewers for 15 years and are
still waiting for their own connections.
Approximately 1,400 homes in Westside are still without sewers.
Some residents are unable to do tasks as simple as laundry
because their septic systems are failing as they wait for their
turn to hook up to sewers.
Findlater said he couldn’t support a study for an area that
hasn’t been making financial contributions to the system.
The remainder of the Central Okanagan Regional District board
approved of the study, however, with the condition that the
Districts of Westside and Peachland be consulted.
Peachland Mayor Graham Reid said the study would be helpful in
determining the logistics and costs of providing the service to
Brent Road. Without answers, the issue would not go away, said
Reid.
In other regional board news, directors have supported the
Friends of Kalamoir Park, who wish to make application for an
$18,000 grant through B.C. Gaming. If received, the funding
would be used to restore trails and educate park users about
proper uses of the paths.
The board has also agreed to proceed with a fire service study
in the Trepanier Bench area near Peachland and Westside.
Reid said interest in fire protection in the area is higher than
regional staff might think, given that one structure in the area
went up in flames recently.
The study will determine costs and service delivery details and
would likely involve a petition of the area’s residents to gauge
the level of interest in bringing contracted fire protection to
the area.
Either Peachland or Westside fire department would likely
eventually need to provide the service.
Westside Weekly newspaper article
– Sunday, November 17th,
2007
By Dorothy Brotherton
Peachland eyes boundary expansion
Peachland could get bigger soon, by
adopting two small adjoining communities.
Mayor Graham Reid and members of
council talked to Minister of Community Services Ida Chong at
the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities convention about the
possibility of boundary extensions.
She responded in a letter.
“The Ministry is committed to
assisting with a boundary extension study, including funding,
for the Brent Road and Paradise Valley area.”
Brent Road is located south of
Peachland, south of Antlers Beach. It is a single road
that clings to the cliff between Highway 97 and Okanagan Lake.
It forms a small, dense, residential
community that has been somewhat orphaned.
Paradise Valley is near the larger
Trepanier Valley, both north of Peachland near the Okanagan
Connector. It is part of the Central Okanagan Regional
District.
Chong said her
ministry will work with staff of the District of Peachland to
outline the process and technical advice, if Peachland council
decides to go ahead with a study on boundary extensions.
KELOWNA
CAPITAL NEWS – WESTSIDE SECTION –
Sunday, October 28th, 2007
DEVELOPMENT
Peachland
wants vote on Crystal Mountain expansion...
Neighbouring
municipalities have vested interest in how Crystal Mountain
develops its potential
By Jason
Luciw
Westside
Reporter
Peachland wants some insurance that
Crystal Mountain Ski and Golf Resort will be a good neighbour,
mostly when it comes to water issues.
Mayor Graham Reid has asked the
regional district to review Peachland’s participation in what’s
called fringe planning – how land is developed in areas outside
a municipality’s boundaries.
While Crystal Mountain will be at
the District of Westside’s doorstep, the resort’s groundwater
needs and sewer discharge could impact flows into nearby Jack
Creek, which empties into Trepanier Creek – a source of
Peachland drinking water.
“I would like to ensure that
Peachland has a vote, especially concerning the effects of
development on Jack Creek,” said Reid.
Currently Peachland pays the
regional district to plan for land use in the fringe areas of
Brent Road and Trepanier/Paradise Valley, he said.
If a municipality pays in to the
planning process for an area, it also gets a vote when
development issues such as rezoning, official community plan
amendments and permits go to the regional board table for
consideration.
Crystal Mountain is therefore an
area that both Peachland and Westside will want to participate
in, said board chairman Robert Hobson.
“We need to discuss who’s going to
participate and who’s going to vote,” Hobson stated.
Westside council would be “crazy” to
not ask for fringe planning rights in the Crystal Mountain area,
commented Reid.
Crystal Mountain was not included in
Westside municipal boundaries after the four year governance
review. At the time of the governance study, the committee
in charge of the process believed that it would be too costly
for a fledgling municipality to be responsible for roads,
wildfire control, water management and other liabilities in an
area that generated little in taxes.
It is anticipated that as expansion
begins at the resort, the municipality will apply to the
province to extend Westside boundaries around the development.
Crystal Mountain is largely
undeveloped now, except for a small ski hill.
Expansion plans
would expand the resort by 10 times its current size to almost
150 hectares.
Fringe planning rights
not optional
by Rob Turner, Westside Weekly
Some Central Okanagan regional directors found themselves engaged in
a discussion Wednesday at the planning and environment committee
that only a politician could love about fringe planning rights.
"I don't want to be fringed, I don't want your money," declared
Central Okanagan East regional director Patti Hanson. "Does an area
have a choice?"
Too bad, said RDCO chair Robert Hobson, you have no choice.
Under provincial legislation, by paying a share of their planning
costs, incorporated communities may acquire "fringe planning rights"
concerning adjoining or nearby unincorporated regional electoral
areas.
Kelowna, for example, holds fringe planning rights on Lakeview
Heights, as well as Ellison and Joe Rich, but not on Westbank.
With Westside's imminent incorporation, Kelowna will lose its right
to pay for a say in any part of the new municipality's planning
issues and decisions.
Everyone on the committee is assuming that Westside will want to
acquire fringe planning rights on the Crystal Resort development on
Mount Last in Upper Glenrosa, just outside of the future municipal
boundary.
"Until Crystal comes in (to the Westside's jurisdiction), Westside
will want a vote on it," said Mayor Graham Reid of Peachland. "And
so will Peachland." Peachland's concern is the drainage and water
quality of Jack Creek, one of two watercourses that drain the
Crystal Mtn. resort area.
Westside should definitely acquire fringe planning rights on the
resort, Westside regional director David Knowles said.
Peachland may also want to acquire fringe planning rights on the
unincorporated areas of Brent Road and Upper Trepanier, Reid
predicted.
THE
PEACHLAND VIEW – October 25th,
2007
High taxes in
Peachland you say?
Provincial numbers say town is near the bottom of the valley
pack.
by Dave
Preston
Peachland has the third lowest
taxes of nine Okanagan communities, according to a recently
released report from the Ministry of Community Services.
Each year,
the ministry releases its Taxes and Charges on a Representative
House spreadsheet, which details taxes paid by homeowners in 156
B.C. municipalities.
A
representative home-owner in Peachland paid $2,647 in total
taxes (including parcel taxes and user fees) in 2007 for a home
assessed at $358,629.
Only two
valley towns came in with lower taxes: Osoyoos at $2,473 for a
representative house (6.6 percent less than Peachland) and
Oliver at $2,306 (12.9 percent less)
Penticton,
Summerland, Kelowna, Lake Country and Vernon all came in with
taxes substantially higher than Peachland’s, ranging from 12.2
percent to 25.5 percent higher.
The
municipality with the highest taxes, according to the report, is
Coldstream, with a representative home-owner paying $3,451 in
taxes or 30.4 percent more than Peachland.
A
representative home-owner in Coldstream pays $977 to the
municipality and $1,031 to the North Okanagan Regional District,
compared to the Peachland example where a homeowner would pay
$1,092 to the town and just $162 to the regional district.
School taxes
accounted for $776 in the Peachland example, which also included
$1,092 for general municipal taxes, $162 for the regional
district, $105 in hospital taxes, $24 for B.C. Assessment and
the Municipal Finance Authority, $210 in parcel taxes and $278
in user fees.
Kelowna has
the highest general municipal taxes (the municipality’s portion
of taxes) at $1,373 for a representative house, followed close
behind by Lake Country at $1,295 and Penticton at $1,261.
THE PEACHLAND VIEW – October
25th, 2007
Another big development on the horizon
Town wants area structure plan initiated for “New Monaco"
by Dave Preston
Just weeks after some residents voiced alarm and concern about the
massive Pincushion/Ponderosa area structure plan at an open house,
the View has learned that another big development proposal is on the
horizon for a large property on the north end of town.
The 61 hectare (150 acre) property sits between the Coquihalla
Connector and Hwy. 97, from the connector overpass to just before
Huston Road.
Few details about the development have come to light but the
planning firm in charge of the project and town planning staff have
discussed the need for an area structure plan for the property.
“The client is not prepared to release much information at this
point,” said Ed Grifone, project manager from design firm CTQ
Consultants of Kelowna.
CTQ has worked on the Kelowna golf resort community Tower Ranch and
Greata Ranch Vineyard Estates, said Grifone, who would not divulge
any development details at this time.
“The client has a vision for something quite wonderful and unique,”
said Grifone. Time will tell what the vision is but it may just come
with a Mediterranean flavour.
The View has learned that New Monaco is the name of the development.
Planning staff met with people from CTQ about a month ago, confirmed
Dave Smith, the town’s director of planning and development
services.
Smith said the developers were told an area structure plan would be
in order for the development.
Area structure plans look at development on a big scale, including
environmental and archaeological impacts, traffic concerns,
servicing, densities and overall zoning for typically large areas
and, if approved, become part of the town’s Official Community Plan.
Several weeks ago, New Town Planning held the last of three public
open houses on the Pincushion/Ponderosa plan, which calls for the
eventual construction of two villages, a new high-end golf course,
500 tourist accommodation units and 1,500 dwelling units on a large
chunk of land that wraps around the base of Pincushion Mountain.
About 60 residents attended the open house and many expressed
concern about the sheer size of the plan and its impact on
Peachland.
CTQ Consultants would have to work out terms of reference for the
New Monaco area structure plan, which would have to be approved by
district council before any major planning work would likely occur.
Area structure plans are typically paid for by developers and can
take from six to 12 months to complete. The plans themselves are
subject to a public hearing and approval by the district council.
Officials looking at
idea of regional governance pick areas for study
By Okanagan Sunday Staff
A study into regional governance for the Okanagan is underway.
A committee of nine appointed political representatives from the
North Okanagan, Okanagan-Similkameen and Central Okanagan regional
districts is exploring growth management and governance options. It
held an initial meeting Friday in Kelowna.
RDCO chair Robert Hobson is heading the group, which includes
administrators from the three Okanagan regional districts and two
representatives from the Ministry of Community Services.
"We have identified some of the subjects that could be the focus of
further study in the process for inter-regional governance, such as
climate change and the environment, economics, emergency services
and Valley-wide planning and growth-management issues," said Hobson.
"These are common areas of concern for all the regional governments.
We've also discussed some possible governance structure models that
will require further research and study."
He said the group hopes to have a working plan by the end of this
month that will guide the committee toward completion of a final
plan by the end of next March.
Said Hobson: "The committee recognizes two important components of
the Okanagan governance study will include ongoing consultation with
governments, other agencies, the public and First Nations up and
down the valley. We also expect to develop a communications plan so
that we involve all the stakeholders in a process that's open to the
public."
The committee's next meeting is scheduled for Nov.26 in Kelowna,
with future meetings scheduled in the South Okanagan and North
Okanagan. A workshop involving all three regional district boards is
planned for January.
Now we need to decide...here's our options
|
For
instance, if the objective is to prepare
a land use plan for purpose of community
expansion, the Regional District may
require a detailed hydrological,
geotechnical and servicing assessment in
advance of considering land use options.
ALTERNATIVELY
If
the objective is to support continued
rural land uses with no increase in
development potential, planning staff
would be able to develop policies
similar to other rural areas of the
Regional District.
(read more below) |
|
|
|
 |
Planning Services
1450 K.L.O.
Road
Kelowna, B.C. V1W 3Z4
Telephone: (250) 469-6227
Fax: (250) 762-7011
www.regionaldistrict.com |
Re: Future
Land Use Plan for Trepanier Valley
There has been
considerable discussion in the community and
questions to the Regional District about a
preparation of a Land Use Plan for Trepanier
Valley. This letter provides some general
information about future Regional District
Planning Services Department activities in
Trepanier.
The Regional
District lays out a yearly list of projects
along with a schedule that is annually approved
by the Regional Board. We therefore have a
long-range strategy of projects often determined
several years in advance. With respect to
Trepanier, electoral area directors have
recently indicated an interest in having a Land
Use Plan (and possibly a Servicing Strategy)
prepared for the Trepanier Valley.
Next step of the
Regional District will be to determine the scope
of work.
For
instance, if the objective is to prepare a land
use plan for purpose of community expansion, the
Regional District may require a detailed
hydrological, geotechnical and servicing
assessment in advance of considering land use
options. Alternatively if the objective is
to support continued rural land uses with no
increase in development potential, planning
staff would be able to develop policies similar
to other rural areas of the Regional District.
Over the course of
the next few months, staff will be assessing the
scope of work and resources needed to support a
plan for Trepanier Valley. Our intention
is to have a scope of work approved for the
project following conclusion of other projects
currently underway.
Until the process
starts, Planning Services staff and Electoral
Area Directors are unable to comment on the
timeline, process, outcome or scope of work for
the proposed Trepanier Land Use Plan.
We look forward to
initiating the work later this year, pending
conclusion of projects currently underway.
Director of Planning
Services
cc: Regional
District Westside Directors & Chair Hobson
cc: District of Peachland
|
|
Westside Weekly -
Sunday July 22nd, 2007
New man in charge of planning,
inspections
Developers on the Westside can expect
faster service with the amalgamation of the old regional district's
planning and inspection departments.
They can also expect a new person at the head of the development
services department, Dan Plamondon.
"We're merging the two departments, which is similar in scope and
direction to a municipality's development services department," said
Plamondon. "It will be more of a one-stop for applications and
inquiries regarding the status of planning applications or building
permits. Bylaw enforcement, building activity and planning
will all merge into one department."
The regional district recently had two retirements: Ken Arcuri as
the head of planning and Kelly Roth, who was in charge of bylaws and
inspections.
Plamondon has been the district's deputy director of planning
services for three years.
Previous to that, he was vice president of the Ontario Real Estate
Corporation, Ontario's equivalent to B.C. Buildings Corporation.
Plamondon has an undergraduate degree in urban geography and
economics from the University of Victoria and a graduate degree in
architecture from the University of Calgary. |
|
Westside Weekly
- Wednesday March 7th, 2007
Paradise Valley, Brent Road may
join Peachland
By Barb Aguiar - Westside Weekly
Peachland may expand its
borders, thanks to the Westside Governance Study. The
study is using the regional district official community plan
for its borders, which does not include Paradise Valley
and the Brent Road areas.
If the Westside chooses to
incorporate or join Kelowna, those areas would be orphaned.
Peachland would like the
province to fund a study of the financial impacts of
including Brent Road and Paradise Valley areas in its
boundaries.
Mayor Graham Reid
reported to Peachland council that the regional board has
endorsed its request for funding.
"The regional district rightly
said that it should.....request the funding because these
are areas that are currently part of the regional district,"
said Reid.
While the study would only
examine the financial advantage or disadvantage to Peachland
of expanding its borders.
"One of the
interesting issues
that those in Brent Road and Paradise Valley would have to
face should they not join with Peachland and stay part of an
electoral area, is that they would be undoubtedly in the
same part of the electoral area as those living on Westbank
First Nation land that are not part of the new municipality,
but can vote in regional district elections. That
voting block would significantly outvote the remnants of
other areas."
Brent Road is located south of
Peachland. Many years ago, some residents campaigned
to join the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
Paradise Valley is in the hills above Peachland and
the Trepanier area, near the Okanagan Connector.
|
Articles by Dave Preston Capital News Contributor
|
|
|
April
02 2006
Planning study to determine future
By Dave Preston Capital News Contributor
Residents of the Trepanier Valley will get
an opportunity to have a formal planning document in place that will
provide a template for future land use in their area.
The move comes after a landowner set up a website to promote a Trepanier
planning study.
Cliff Stowell and his wife purchased a 30-hectare property just over two
years ago in the Trepanier Valley, an area that runs along Trepanier
Road and straddles the Coquihalla Connector.
The area borders the District of Peachland and is governed by the
regional district.
Stowell said he began the process of subdividing his property into
four-hectare lots and discovered the RU2 zoning that was in place could
allow for all manor of agricultural uses.
Stowell said he didn't want to see a feed lot show up on one of his
yet-to-be subdivided lots.
Checking into what the rules were, Stowell discovered the chances of
rezoning in the area were slim.
Enquiries at the regional district office led Stowell to realize that
unless an approved planning document were in place for the valley,
little would change in the future.
"The area has no plan," said Stowell.
"It came to light that there had never been an effort made to have a
plan for the area."
"I talked to neighbours and it seemed that most of them wanted some kind
of study," said Stowell.
Eight months ago he set up a website to promote the idea and seek
feedback from area residents.
To date, about half of the 65 residents of the area has responded to
Stowell's website and support having a planning study completed.
"The area needs a plan so local residents can have a say in the way the
area develops," noted one resident.
Stowell said there are a number of concerns that valley residents have
and the general consensus is that they would like a plan in place to
address them in the future.
A number of gravel extraction operations in the area have raised
concerns recently as has the condition of Trepanier Road and
accessibility of water from Trepanier Creek.
A planning study will help to determine land use issues, servicing
issues and provide a template for future subdividing of properties,
according to Stowell.
"We had two options," said Stowell. "Join Peachland or go with the
regional district."
Peachland has been basically unresponsive to suggestions the Trepanier
Valley might want to join the town, according to Stowell.
The other option would see the Westside Official Community Plan
boundaries expanded to include the valley.
"It sounds like it will likely happen," said Stowell.
"We will be doing it, I just can't say when", said Ken Arcuri, director
of planning services at the regional district. Arcuri said that the
matter was brought forward to a planning and environment committee in
February. A planning study for the Trepanier Valley has now been
identified as a work plan item for this year. "We will be doing it, I
just can't say when", said Arcuri. A planning study will lay the
groundwork for land use decisions on private land, lot sizes, level of
servicing and infrastructure concerns, said Arcuri.
Stowell's website is located at
http://www.homeandweb.com/peachland-property.htm
|
|
©
Copyright 2005 Kelowna Capital News
|
|
Mar
29 2006
Province wants to sell
surplus land
|
|
By Dave
Preston Capital News Contributor
Connecting
Trepanier Road to the
Coquihalla Connector via on/off ramps in 2004 was seen as providing
better access for
Trepanier
Valley residents.
It was also touted as a badly needed escape route in the case of a
wildfire. Now the province wants to recoup the money it contributed
to the construction project by selling off surplus land. But first
it needs to get some land out of the Agricultural Land Reserve .
The B.C. Transportation Financing Authority has applied to subdivide
four properties that are adjacent to
Trepanier
Road and the Connector into six properties.
The move would allow for future highway access
requirements and to allow for the sale of surplus land to recover
construction funds.
The regional district board had a look at the matter recently. The
board gave its support to the application, which was referred by the
Agricultural Land Commission.
That organization has the final say as to whether any lands are
removed from the ALR but typically asks local government for input
on applications.
The financing authority wants to subdivide four existing parcels
near the on/off ramps into six parcels ranging from four hectares to
6.4 hectares in size. The proposal, if approved, will allow for:
-
Dedication of land to accommodate future highway improvements
including on/off ramps to the west of the existing ramps
-
Sale
of surplus lands to recover costs for the initial ramp
construction
-
Incorporate protection of the riparian area adjacent to
Trepanier
Creek.
With the regional board’s support, the matter will go
before the ALC for a final decision. The parcels in question are
located near where
Trepanier
Road meets the Connector.
© Copyright 2005
Kelowna Capital News
|
|
|
|
