Citizens need to speak up about massive project

Dear Editor:

Penticton has recently seen some good developments, such as the new condos on both Westminster Avenue East and the 100 block of Ellis Street. These are appropriate infill housing, proposed and built with little or no controversy.

The massive subdivision proposed for the landfill area by Canadian Horizons, however, may not be destined for that level of public approval.

In a January 2019 Herald article regarding their project, a Canadian Horizons spokesperson said they had “the potential to go to about 300 homes, but that might be a little aggressive.”

I assumed that since then they would have read Penticton’s new, widely supported official community plan, and were backing away from that 300 home target. Alas, I was wrong. The current proposal cites an astonishing 350 homes.

Section 4.1.1 of the new OCP, “Managing Residential Growth,” Goals and Policies (condensed here) states that Penticton retain its compact footprint to help protect natural areas . . . and help create conditions supporting transit and active transportation modes. That OCP section states that new residential development should be focused in existing developed areas; and should avoid environmentally sensitive areas, geological hazards, steep slopes, agricultural areas, and areas not readily served by transit.

The subdivision proposed for “Landfill Heights” misses the mark on those criteria, by far.

Recent articles in the Herald and other sources have morphed the Canadian Horizons proposal into public controversy. Oddly, details of the proposed subdivision have now vanished from their website. The project link now leads to a single page which simply reads: “This consultation is now closed. Thank you to all participants who participated.”

Penticton’s OCP was passed by council in August 2019 following thorough and comprehensive public engagement.

Yet the city hasn’t kept the public informed, nor conducted any consultation on the nature or scope of the current Canadian Horizons proposal. When such consultation is led by developers, public trust in a proposed project can quickly evaporate, as it did in the Skaha Park waterslides debacle.

This huge subdivision proposal is apparently headed to council for consideration approximately eight weeks from now, followed by a public hearing as soon as September.

Given this short notice and the approaching summer season, it’s important that residents make their views on this proposed rezoning and development known to the City of Penticton, soon.

Loraine Stephanson,

Penticton