Company believes 90 per cent of Summerland supports $125M plan
Public hearings slated for Monday
Despite months of vocal public opposition, the company behind the proposed Banks Crescent housing project in Summerland remains convinced the “silent majority” supports the project.
Lark Group senior vice-president Kirk Fisher said the company has filed with the district 1,200 letters of support and contacted nearly 3,000 people in the community, and based on independent statistical analysis believes it has the backing of 90 per cent of residents.
“Our job is to fight for that silent-majority senior that sits at home and isn’t going to come out and complain,” he said in a phone interview Thursday.
The interview was pitched by Lark Group to help clear the air ahead of what promises to be a heated set of public hearings Feb. 5.
The Surrey-based company has proposed putting up five buildings plus townhomes over three levels of underground parking, which would provide a total of 424 units. The mix would include market-priced townhomes, plus condos with various levels of care available for elderly residents.
According to Fisher, the total capital cost would be $125 million. Construction would create 200 to 300 jobs over four years, and the finished project would result in 75 to 100 permanent jobs with $5 million in annual salaries.
Lark Group would also pay $2.5 million in development cost charges to the District of Summerland and another $1 million in amenity contributions to upgrade local roads, sidewalks and other infrastructure.
The proposed site is former agricultural land in a bowl-shaped area east of Bristow and Solly roads, and above the unmapped aquifer that feeds the Summerland Trout Hatchery.
The potential impact on the hatchery’s water supply remains a major sticking point that has left the non-profit society that runs it in firm opposition to the development unless a contingency water source is identified.
Since its overtures to the hatchery have been rebuffed, Fisher said, Lark Group has now shifted its focus away from providing a contingency towards monitoring and mitigating impacts to the aquifer during construction. There is a “very low risk” that compaction equipment used during a short window of construction will create turbidity in the hatchery’s water, according to Fisher, and the company has proposed a monitoring well with an alarm so work can be halted quickly if it does indeed happen.
But turbidity wouldn’t necessarily be fatal to the hatchery, he suggested.
“The hatchery has had turbidity through the whole life of it. They have open creeks, they have animals who walk through the creeks, they have sloughing that happens, they have different things that happen that create turbidity, so the fish live with turbidity,” he said.
Fisher admitted, however, there is still a chance the turbidity could reach the hatchery and kill fish, but said that risk must be balanced against the good that comes from the development.
“The aspect of a very slim chance that some fish that are going to be caught or killed in recreational fishing, compared to whether 500 or 600 seniors have a wonderful place to live in the community they grew up in or would like to retire in, is the question,” said Fisher.
“So it’s not like the hatchery will be dead or die. We only do this construction period for a short number of months.” Fisher also noted the project wouldn’t require pilings that could potentially reach into the aquifer, and “the data is clear, four engineers have said there’s no concept of our foundation getting to the aquifer.”
On the issue of care for residents, he confirmed the nonprofit Saint Elizabeth Health Care will charge market prices for its service — minus any government subsidies — and downplayed fears the project would put a strain on local resources.
Besides relying on tele-health — doctors by phone — Saint Elizabeth with its 7,000 staff across Canada also has the ability to recruit help to the community.
As for suggestions Lark Group build closer to downtown amenities or in an area with fewer perceived environmental risks, Fisher argued seniors deserve to have a lake view if they want one and there is simply nowhere else to go that offers enough space to take advantage of economies of scale necessary to keep the project affordable.
Fisher further argued the project would provide a needed boost to a community in which growth has stagnated.
Monday’s public hearings focus on amendments to Summerland’s zoning bylaw and Official Community Plan required for the project. Two sessions are set for 1:30-4:30 p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the arena banquet room.
“We are so excited for the public hearing to get the facts out,” said Fisher, “and for people to hear how great the project really is for the community.”