Image Credit: Contributed
August 28, 2014 - 1:27 PM
West Kelowna Council Meeting - August 26, 2014
Carriage Homes
Council directed staff to proceed with the development of draft zoning amendments to permit carriage homes, a form of infill housing that results in a secondary residence which is subordinate to the principle residence on the same property. Carriage homes, with extensive regulations, are proposed to be permitted in the following zones:
· Westbank Centre Compact Residential Zone (RC1)
· Boucherie Centre Compact Residential Zone (RC2)
· Single Detached Residential Zone (R1)
· Large Parcel Single Detached Residential Zone (R1L)
· Country Residential Zone (RU1)
· Rural Residential Small Parcel Zone (RU2)
· Rural Residential Medium Parcel Zone (RU3)
· Rural Residential Large Parcel Zone (RU4)
· Rural Resource Zone (RU5)
· Agricultural Zone A1
The District will proceed with the development of draft zoning amendments for carriage homes as outlined in the staff report. Public consultation was undertaken to get feedback from the public on allowing Carriage Homes in West Kelowna. An Open House was held on May 21, an online survey was made available from May 21 to June 4 with 90 surveys completed and information was provided at Westside Daze with the public invited to comment. Results from consultation vary between support and non-support. The District’s Advisory Planning Commission supported allowing carriage homes within the District at its meeting June 19, 2014, recommending that privacy is ensured and that Council consider an owner occupancy requirement for carriage homes. The District’s Agricultural Advisory Committee supported permitting carriage homes in rural zones at its meeting July 3, 2014. 28 people (96% of respondents) indicated that carriage homes should be permitted. The next steps involve extensive public consultation as well as the formal bylaw process and public hearing, which is part of the required consideration of bylaw adoption.
Council Remuneration and Expense Bylaw
Council gave first, second and third reading to the Council Remuneration and Expense Bylaw which establishes the current base annual remuneration for Mayor and Councillors and sets an annual adjustment based on the BC Consumer Price Index for each year thereafter. The Bylaw also includes an expenses section. The Bylaw sets the current base annual remuneration for Mayor at $63,368 and $21,508 for Councillors, both effective January 1, 2015.
2014 Citizens’ Survey
Council was provided the 2014 Citizens’ Survey Results, the seventh annual survey conducted by the District. The survey is the only anonymous, statistically-accurate polling of randomly-selected West Kelowna taxpayers. The District received 265 completed surveys of the 1,000 mailed out. The Importance versus Quality Comparison element of the survey indicated the following services are not meeting expectations of respondents:
· Road Maintenance
· Snow Clearing/Removal
· Roads
· Sidewalks
· Growth & Development Planning
· Illegal Dumping Cleanup Program
· Economic Development
The services that are exceeding expectations are:
· Public Library
· Arenas
· Sports Fields – Soccer/Football
· Sports Fields – Baseball
· West Kelowna Website
These results closely mirror the 2013 results. Significant findings of the 2014 survey include:
· 50% of respondents are unemployed or retired
· 64% of respondents are 55 years or over; less than 4% are 34 or younger
· 86% say quality of life in West Kelowna is Good or Very Good
· 55% indicate elected officials’ performance is Good or Very Good
· Respondents ranked capital funding investment in the following order of priority (with 1 being the most important):
1. Roads
2. Sidewalks
3. Parks
4. Water Infrastructure
5. Environmental Protection
6. Drainage Infrastructure
7. Recreation Facilities
8. Beatification/Revitalization
9. Bicycle Lanes
10. Boat Launches
· 74% of respondents visit Westbank Centre once or more a week
· 80% of respondents do not support a tax increase for proactive Bylaw Enforcement
· Respondents ranked development of recreational trails in the following order of importance:
1. Waterfront Trails
2. Neighbourhood Trails
3. Backcountry/Crown Land
· 63% rate the level of service from District staff as Good or Very Good
· All Economic Development initiatives, including tourism marketing, investment attraction, assisting local farmers and business, were ranked as important with the notable exception of Foreign Labour Recruitment; 65% indicated this was Not Important
· 86% of respondents do not use transit; 27% said they would if it was offered in their area; 23% said they would if it was more frequent
· 58% of respondents indicate the preferred choice of keeping taxes the same with the same or less level of service
Consideration will be given to increasing the number of returned surveys for 2015 with a possible online option, return incentives and increased publicity.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014