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Council Meeting - February 14, 2017

SILGA Resolutions 
Council endorsed the following resolutions to be forwarded for consideration by delegates attending the Southern Interior Local Government Association Annual General Meeting April 25 to 28:
·         Staffing Levels – Integrated RCMP Detachments
WHEREAS RCMP ‘E’ Division uses, in some areas, an integrated detachment model (two or more municipal or provincial RCMP units housed in one building) to provide policing to combined municipal and provincial areas;

AND WHEREAS municipalities authorize and fund increases to the number of municipal officers at the integrated detachments, but the number of provincially funded officers does not automatically change, possibly resulting in a potential imbalance and financial subsidy to provincial/rural areas by the municipalities:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General to initiate a review of the number of provincial officers serving at an integrated detachment when the municipal component of the detachment is increased to ensure that the municipal and provincial areas are being funded fairly.

·         Province-Wide Rat Reduction Strategy
WHEREAS in recent years, the Province of BC has seen an increase in the population and distribution of rats for which no provincial strategy exists;

AND WHEREAS rat infestations lead to damage to buildings, electrical wiring and stored food supplies and rats carry diseases that could be transmitted to humans;

THEREFORE BE lT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the Ministry of
Environment to develop and fund a strategy to reduce and/or control the rat population in BC.

Commercial Medical Marihuana Regulations
Council gave first reading to a Zoning Bylaw Amendment to further regulate and provide clarity for commercial medical marihuana facilities in West Kelowna. The amendments exclude marihuana from being grown in a greenhouse or nursery which will reduce confusion and ensure all commercial production, processing, storage and distribution of marihuana falls within a single definition and associated zoning regulations. The bylaw amendment requires air filtration and security provisions for commercial marihuana facilities including the personal or designated production for more than one registrant on a premises, not including the residential premises used for the production, processing or storage of marihuana for the medicinal use of a resident of that premises. The intent of these amendments is to improve public security and reduce nuisance to surrounding properties. The proposed bylaw is expected to facilitate a discussion in the community about commercial medical marihuana land use implications and was prompted by numerous inquiries about business ventures regarding production facilities for growing marihuana in West Kelowna. The draft bylaw will be sent to referral agencies including the RCMP and presented to the City’s Advisory Planning Commission before coming before Council again for second reading. If it receives second reading, the draft bylaw will be scheduled for a public hearing.

Goat’s Peak/Gellatly Comprehensive Development Plan
Council adopted an Official Community Plan (OCP) Amendment Bylaw relating to Goat’s Peak/Gellatly Comprehensive Development Plan involving four properties encompassed in the plan, totaling approximately 110 hectares. The land use generally adheres to the OCP in that 55% of the land base will be set aside as open space protection with developed areas focused on the historically disturbed area of the site. The development of the subject lands will provide community benefits including an elementary school site and parkland suitable for an athletic field, recreational connectivity to adjacent regional parkland and improvements to Gellatly Road.

Tallus Ridge Drive Rezoning
Council adopted OCP and Zoning Amendment bylaws for Tallus Ridge Drive, amending the land use designation from Low Density Multiple Family to Single Family Residential and Parks and Natural Areas; and to rezone from the R3 Low Density Multiple Family Zone to the RC3 Compact Single Detached Residential Zone and P1 Park and Open Space Zone. The bylaws accommodate a proposed compact single family residential subdivision and ensure that a small undevelopable portion of the existing multiple family area is being rezoned to P1 Parks and Open Space. The subject area is 2.699 hectares, located at the end of Tallus Heights Drive near the centre of the large 41.66 hectare property.

Westbank Centre Redevelopment
Council approved a Commercial Development Permit for 2405-2417 Dobbin Road for the construction of a three-storey building. The property is located in Westbank Centre at the southwest corner of the intersection of Dobbin Road and Old Okanagan Highway and less than 400 metres from the Westbank Transit Exchange. Five derelict buildings were demolished to facilitate the re-development project. Although the parcel has frontage on Old Okanagan Highway and Dobbin Road, the site will be accessed via development of the public laneway to the immediate south of the property. The proposed development will accommodate general retail on the lower level, retail and medical clinic space on the ground floor and six office units on the second storey.

News from © iNFOnews, 2017