The Knox Mountain development at 630 Boynton Place.
Image Credit: SOMA Concepts & Solutions
February 16, 2023 - 7:00 PM
A Kelowna man is taking legal action against the City over a 218-unit development slated for the base of Knox Mountain.
Murray Porubanec filed the suit against the City of Kelowna, Feb. 15, and wants a development permit issued last summer to be quashed. He also named Knox Eminence Developments and Meridan Developments in the suit.
The legal challenge should come as no surprise to the City as Porubanec launched a crowdfunding appeal last September in order to raise the money needed to take legal action. So far he's raised $6,400 of the $15,00 goal largely through anonymous donations.
Porubanec took issue with a 218-unit development slated for 630 Boynton Place. The notice of claim said Porubanec lives about 50 metres from the site, in a house which B.C. Assessment values at $1.5 million.
According to the court document, the City of Kelowna approved a development permit for 630 Boynton Place in August 2022. The permit allowed for the development of three four-story apartment buildings with a total of 218 units. Suites will be a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom condos.
The development would also have a pool and clubhouse, and one suite was part of the Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Foundation Millionaire Lottery last fall.
The Knox Mountain development at 630 Boynton Place.
Image Credit: SOMA Concepts & Solutions
In the notice of claim, Porubanec argued the buildings in the final drawings used to obtain the permit are higher than the maximum height allowed and have shorter front yards.
The notice of claims said this doesn't fit with current zoning laws and "purports to permit illegal construction."
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"Accordingly, the decision of (Kelowna) council to authorize... the development permit is unreasonable and must be quashed," the notice of claim said.
The notice of claim goes into lengthy technical detail about the permit and what is required under the City's zoning bylaws.
The crowdfunding campaign puts it in simpler terms.
"Some of those concerns included lack of compliance with the zoning bylaw, failure to request all of the required variances, improper determination of site coverage and building height requirements," the crowdfunding campaign stated.
It went on to say there are legitimate concerns about "traffic, parking, safety, natural hazards, form and character and environmental sensitivity."
READ MORE: Investors turning away from the Okanagan commercial real estate market
The City of Kelowna has not yet responded to the notice of claim.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
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