The gate on the City of Kelowna boardwalk through the Hotel Eldorado patio area is locked again.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

Once again, the gate along the boardwalk that runs through the Hotel Eldorado’s patio is being locked to the public.

The boardwalk and public walkway runs from Rotary Beach Park to the Cook Road boat launch. The city has a three-metre wide right-of-way for the portion through the Hotel Eldorado patio.

Last year, the hotel started locking the gate in order to protect its diners during COVID.

The city sought an injunction, trying to keep it open.

An October court ruling said the city was justified in protecting public access but, because of COVID restrictions, the hotel risked a crackdown by public health officials if it allowed potentially unvaccinated members of the public to pass close to its diners.

But now that restrictions have lifted, the hotel is once again restricting access.

READ MORE: Eldorado gate staying closed on Kelowna boardwalk because people can still dine outside

“We are locking the gate again, based on the fact the weather is to the point where we’re actually serving the public,” hotel general manager Mark Jeanes told iNFONews.ca last week.

The city, in the meantime, is weighing its options.

“The previous court ruling on the interlocutory injunction suggested there are certain courses of action that we are considering at this time,” Johannes Saufferer, the city’s director of strategic investments, told iNFOnews.ca.

The court ruling allows the hotel to lock the gate to the public only on days they are serving customers on the patio. During the winter, that didn’t happen.

It goes on to say the City of Kelowna can apply, with three day’s notice, to set aside that part of the ruling “if and when the current public health restrictions associated with the pandemic are changed in a way that would allow for less restricted public access to the disputed area.”

Vaccine passports are no longer required in restaurants.

"We are fully complying with the Court order concerning the boardwalk,” Jeanes wrote in an email to iNFOnews.ca. “Our concern, as it has always been, is for the safety of hotel guests, patrons, our staff, people using the boardwalk, and the inherent safety conflicts with the boat launch. We will continue to respect the court's requirements for the opening/closing of the boardwalk gate.”

Whether the city goes back to court to try, again, to change the injunction or not, the real issue is whether there will be public access through the patio, regardless of COVID restrictions, in the future.

The City of Kelowna originally filed a claim against Eldorado Hotel (identified in court documents as 1004364 B.C. Ltd.) in an effort to enforce its right-of-way.

The hotel countered that claim, saying it was unenforceable since it required them to maintain the boardwalk and keep it in good repair.

That matter still has to go to court. No trial date has been set because, Saufferer said, the parties can’t agree on how many court days are needed.

“The detour remains fully open,” Jeanes said in his email. “We look forward to the City addressing the safety issues in a meaningful way."

The red line shows the detour around the hotel.

Image Credit: Submitted/Hotel Eldorado

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