Peachland falling into Kelowna trap

Editor’s note: Due to a technical issue, the following letter was cut off abruptly in Monday’s edition of The Herald. It is reprinted here in its entirety. and private. It is owned and operated by the shareholders, and shareholders elect a board of directors to manage the affairs of the corporation.

The 2,200 property owners are the shareholders of the Corporation of Peachland, and city councillors are elected to manage the affairs of the city according to the directions they receive from the shareholders from time to time.

The Official Community Plan is the property owners’ detailed and inclusive expression of how the shareholders want to develop their properties. It becomes an integral part of the city’s formal business plan and the associated by-laws are the tools designed and used to implement that plan.

Peachland city council’s pre-occupation with growth is not only in conflict with the OCP, it is a blatant violation of the rights of the shareholders.

A long and ugly strip mall along Beach Avenue is obviously not ìsustainable,î because it will change every beautiful detail proposed in our Sustainable Downtown Plan – forever.

An OCP does not become ìdatedî just because it no longer fits the visions and ambitions of a handful of people who do not have the intellectual capacity to appreciate the value of the last little piece of the original treasure that is the Okanagan valley.

City councillors’ pre-occupation with a ìvibratingî downtown will radically and permanently destroy everything we value about our downtown and is completely out of character with our friendly and laid-back life-style.

Like Kelowna, our city council is also in violation of many of its corporate values, like respect for the citizens and their rights, defying community input and engagement.

Peachland is a bedroom community and will continue to be so for a long time. Please wake us up before the fall election. Andy Thomsen

Penticton