Battle over Spiller Rd. project raging on
Details are still scarce regarding a developer’s third attempt to build a new neighbourhood at the foot of the Naramata Bench, but a citizens’ group formed to fight the project is wasting no time rallying troops for another battle.
In response to Canadian Horizons’ new plans for 1050 Spiller Rd., members of the Society for the Preservation of the Naramata Bench are calling for concerned citizens to lend a presence at today’s city council meeting at 1 p.m.
“Together we must ensure that Canadian Horizons does not leap-frog due process with its last-ditch attempt to generate returns for its investors. We must continue to raise awareness of the significant and extensive environmental, economic, social and legal risks of development and densification of the Naramata Bench,” said the society in a press release.
“It is crucial that the conversations at council focus on delivering on Penticton’s strategic plan and growth objectives in alignment with engagement findings and in support of the long-term best interests of Penticton.”
That was one of four requests outlined by the society in the release.
The others call for city council to remove 1050 Spiller Rd. as a designated growth area in the Official Community Plan; update the zoning bylaw to enshrine 2.47 acres as the minimum lot size for country residential housing; and release Canadian Horizons’ latest proposal.
The only details about that proposal were contained in a press release issued by the city on Sept. 1 that stated Canadian Horizons withdrew its second proposal after receiving the results of public consultation and subsequently “made a new application to develop the lands under the current zoning.”
Currently, about half of the 51-hectare site on a swath of natural hillside is zoned for country residential housing, while a smaller portion is designated for a mobile home park.
Canadian Horizons’ most recently abandoned proposal was unveiled in May 2022 and contemplated a country estate-type development with 112 single-family homes that required amendments to the OCP and zoning bylaw.
Over the summer, city staff carried out public engagement on the proposal. That effort generated feedback from 520 people, 54% of whom opposed any sort of development at the site, according to a staff report being presented to council today.
Another 30% supported development, but with conditions to preserve the environment and address infrastructure concerns.
Attached to the staff report are letters from the Regional District of OkanaganSimilkameen and Interior Health, which urge caution due to the project site lying immediately north of the Campbell Mountain Landfill, and from the Penticton Indian Band, which has publicly opposed development there since at least 2018.
The band’s concerns centre on members’ use of the site for hunting, gathering and other cultural purposes, along with the broader issues of aboriginal rights and title and the need for First Nations to provide informed consent to developments on their territories.
“PIB’s position remains firm and will not change. We will not stand by while the province of B.C. excludes our members from yet another critical hunting, gathering and ceremonial area,” states the letter.