The Cook Road boat launch is the busiest in Kelowna with up to 20,000 uses a year.
Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna
February 07, 2022 - 5:30 PM
An estimated one-quarter of the boats entering Okanagan Lake from city-owned boat launches in Kelowna are launched by commercial operators.
This summer they’re going to need permits and have to pay fees to use the city-owned launches.
“The benefit to an agreement such as this, is the boat operator needs to agree to the rules of conduct at the boat launch,” JoAnne Adamson, manager of the City of Kelowna’s Property Management department told city council today, Feb. 7.
“If they chose not to, or caused a concern or did something that’s not compliant with the rules of their licence, they can have their licences revoked and so they will lose their ability to conduct business at the boat launch.”
The two main boat launches are at Cook Road and Water Street which, between them, have up to 35,000 uses a year. Launching and taking out are counted separately.
Along with companies that sell and maintain boats there are about 15 others that provide valet launching services, dryland boat rentals or dryland boat clubs.
Those have triggered a number of complaints around vehicles and boat trailers being left unattended, improper refuelling and restricting access to others, Adamson said.
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In addition, any other businesses using city facilities, such as food trucks in parks, have to get permits and pay fees.
Annual maintenance of the city’s three main boat launches (Sutherland Bay sees up to 4,000 uses a year) can be more than $200,000 a year and $1.15 million is needed to replace the wooden floating docks at Cook Road and Water Street along with ramp improvements.
Coun. Brad Sieben said permits and fees are a good start but there may need to be someone on site at key times to direct traffic.
Coun. Maxine DeHart noted that, just because they have to pay fees, the commercial users should not get priority usage of the launches ahead of non-paying users.
Council supported the move unanimously. Details of the licences and fees are expected to go back to council in a month’s time followed, later in the year, by a plan for the use of the boat launches over the next 15 years.
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