Advisory committee’s advice ignored twice

The Okanagan Weekend

Two recommendations from city advisory committees were met with opposition from council Tuesday.

Due to concerns about fragmentation of farm land, the Agriculture Advisory Committee recommended council not give its blessing to a subdivision application the owners of 295 Upper Bench Rd. have filed with the Agricultural Land Commission.

Council instead voted 3-3 with Judy Sentes absent to endorse the application, which would divide a 3.4-hectare plot into portions of 2.4 and 0.9 ha, respectively.

The tie vote defeated the motion and the matter was then deferred to the July 18 meeting, when Sentes will be back from vacation and can break the deadlock.

A separate recommendation from the Transportation Advisory Committee was also deferred.

The committee suggested council spend $2,500 to buy 100 signs that community groups can use to urge motorists to slow down.

After expressing concerns about the cost, council asked staff to check with a city in Ontario that ran a similar program to see if it was effective and worth the expense there.

A consultant’s report released in May found some members of the city’s 17 different advisory committees are frustrated by council ignoring their recommendations.