Third defeat should be the final one

Editor: I have been following Tourism Kelowna’s attempts to get approval to build a new tourist centre for the past three years on city waterfront or downtown property.

The first proposal was in or near City Park, which was declined by city council due to large opposition by Kelowna residents.

The second proposal was a large permanent two-floor building to be built on the downtown waterway with offices on the second floor with the best view in the city.

This proposal, too, foundered in the face of strong opposition. With this plan was infringement onto Simpson covenant lands, which were left for public use only.

In the past few years, city council and vested businesses have tried their best to get this property rezoned somehow. The land should never be rezoned as it was left to the residents of Kelowna by the Simpson family for everyone to enjoy.

Now, Tourism Kelowna has applied for rezoning of the smaller land parcel and to build a permanent building.

This proposal eliminates the only deep-water boat launch for sailboats, will eliminate a large section of valuable waterfront permanently, and only attract tourists part of the year.

With massive opposition from Kelowna residents, they are compelled to go to a public hearing tonight, where local taxpayers will attend en masse to contest this illconceived plan for the third, and hopefully last, time.

I and many others believe that city powers have not addressed the project’s long-term public infrastructure costs. There have been letters to council from opposition groups requesting publication of detailed plans and costs to the public before the public hearing, but the city has not responded with such information.

Something is democratically wrong with this decision. What is city council hiding from us taxpayers?

Taxpayers don’t need to pay extra taxes for bad decisions by council.