Summerland council approves controversial townhouse project
The objections of neighbours along or near Prairie Valley Road in Summerland fell on deaf ears at Summerland Council Tuesday as they approved moving forward with a 35-unit residential housing project in this area.
With the exception of Coun. Adrienne Betts, council unanimously approved a rezoning application following a brief public hearing where several local residents voiced their strong opposition to the proposal.
The proposed strata townhouse development would see 30 to 35 units built on two large parcels of land on Prairie Valley Road.
“This is conceptual only,” said district planner Brad Dollevoet. “The two landowners that are the subject of this rezoning application have been clear with the district as well as the public that their intention is to sell their properties, so this concept proposal may change in the future as this project moves forward.”
The land has been approved for exclusion from the Agricultural Land Reserve due to its low agricultural value, he said.
“There are no other valid uses for this site moving forward rather than residential,” said Dollevoet.
Both property owners have paid for environmental assessments of their property.
Most of the environmentally sensitive areas on both properties are located on slopes and hills, which is why the proposal is to build the townhouses on the lower sections of both parcels, he said.
The subdivision would be located adjacent to the Summerland Eco Village project approved earlier in the evening by District council near Cartwright Mountain.
There are existing water services at this location, but no sewer connections, however, the two property owners are willing to pay for sewer connections to their property and existing sanitary sewer system, he said.
Brad Elenko, representing the two property owners, told council his clients want a comprehensively-planned, modern development for their land once sold.
They want a site plan that holistically considers matters such as parking, amenity space, refuse collection and will assure the aesthetic value of the development, he said.
The two property owners are working together to share road access and to minimize impacts on the road structure that would result from this development, he said.
The hope is to use one developer to build all units on the site, he said.
“That would ensure good planning and quality architecture,” he said.
This project provides an opportunity for a nicely-designed housing development on land not suited for other uses, he said.
Stuart Jones, a retired partner in a planning and engineering firm, said he opposes this project as the property has large hills and slopes, which would be inappropriate for this kind of housing.
“It’s a complicated site… the gradients where the actual homes and roads would be built, there’s an actual 30 per cent gradient,” he said at the public hearing. “These are too steep to support buildings that will sit gently on the landscape and (they won’t) be particularly affordable.”
The site would need many barriers and retaining walls and would not be aesthetically pleasing to nearby property owners.
This rural site is not appropriate for a multi-unit residential housing project and would be much more appropriate near the downtown, he said.
Another neighbour, who lives on Prairie Valley Road, was also opposed.
“Everything goes downhill, so it’s going to take years and years of construction,” she said. “I’m concerned for my daughter’s business that she runs. She teaches riding lessons… and we’re one of the last people around that does that.”
The endless blasting and construction will negatively affect her family and neighbours for many years once construction begins, she said.
“I don’t think it’s the right area for this,” she said. “I think it will ruin the valley.”
Another neighbour said he was opposed, calling the rezoning application “smoke and mirrors.”
Properties on the lower side of Prairie Valley Road will be impacted the most as traffic from this site and the nearby Eco Village will be much greater than staff suggests.
“Both of these proposals are going to make things even worse,” he said.
There are numerous traffic accidents near his home and this will be a much bigger worry if two large subdivisions are built, he said.
Betts was the only member of council who opposed the rezoning application.
She listened to the concerns of neighbours and could no longer support this development, she said.
“How is our town going to look and what would the implications of these changes mean for our town and that’s what this group of people around the table sits and discusses and represents the people who come and speak to us?,” she asked.
This project would increase traffic and impact people who have lived their for a long time and she could not support it, adding any such project should be downtown or closer to it, said Betts.
Coun. Doug Patan said having property owners willing to pay for sewer services to the subdivision shows their good intent. The district also needs more housing.
“At this point in time, this is what Summerland needs,” he said.
— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald
