Public Hearing today on Gellatly waterfront planning and suites and carriage houses
The city is hosting a public hearing on two key initiatives West Kelowna Council is undertaking, planning for the Gellatly waterfront and amendments to its secondary suite and carriage house regulations.
The public hearing will be held this afternoon, beginning at 6 p.m., at Westbank Lions Hall, 2466 Main Street.
Future of Gellatly Bay
Council is considering amending the Official Community Plan to include a new Growth Management Designation specifically for portions of five properties in Gellatly Bay, a premier destination at West Kelowna’s waterfront.
The proposed amendment seeks to outline the vision for the future development of Gellatly Bay as a mixed use village comprised of small-scale commercial uses (cafes, boutique shops and local services operated year-round), multi-residential uses (apartments and townhouses), public parking (vehicular and boat/trailer) and public spaces (promenades and plazas) as envisioned within the 2011 Waterfront Plan and 2017 Gellatly Village Study.
Secondary suites and carriage houses
Council is considering changes to existing secondary suite and carriage house regulations. These include:
• Allowing a suite entrance to face the same road as the principal dwelling entrance, provided the suite entrance is subordinate in appearance.
• Permitting suites within the RC3, CD1(C), CD1(D), CD1(E) and CD3(A) zones provided that the parcel has a minimum lot size of 550 m2 (5,902 ft2) or greater.
• Reducing the requirement for landscape or fence screening along parcel boundaries for parcels where carriage houses are constructed adjacent to residential or rural zones.
• Removing the requirement for sign-off of all shared access owners, easement holders or strata councils where suites or carriage houses are accessed from these private roads.
Council first implemented secondary suite regulations in 2011 and allowed carriage houses beginning in 2015. Find out more at www.westkelownacity.ca.
The tenth annual Citizens’ Survey is now in the mail to one thousand randomly-selected West Kelowna residents who have until Wednesday, May 31 to respond.