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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
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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) |
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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
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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. |
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