Stunned by town council meeting
Dear editor: John Abernethy’s letter to the editor. “Peachland’s infamy” (Daily Courier, Jan. 23) should have been prefaced “once upon a time” because while it is a great story it simply isn’t true.
First, police were not called to to the Jan. 9 Peachland council meeting “to protect council from an unruly mob.” In fact, the folks inside the room, about 77, did not even know the police were there. I know because I was in the room.
The police were called because the fire marshal had been called because the room had a 77-member capacity and there were 94 in the room with another 30 outside. The meeting, regarding changing Peachland’s official community plan retroactively to accommodate the five-storey proposed Peachtree development, had been forecasted by the Peachland View to have a heavy attendance, but it still was held, for some reason, in a small room.
There were many suggestions to move the meeting to a larger venue in the community centre, but the mayor refused. The fire marshal asked for volunteers to leave and when none would, he said, OK those blocking fire exits will have to move.
Folks moved and police, who had been already called because the fire marshall had been called, were outside the whole time to make sure no extra attendees arriving late could go into the already, full room.
Some did sit in an adjoining room, which had been promised an audio feed, but the audio feed didn’t work.There were about 120-plus total inside and out during the meeting. It is a complete fabrication to suggest police were there “to protect council from an unruly mob.”
Abernathy is also incorrect in saying the proposed five-storey Peachtree development is only the second development on Beach Ave. in 20 years. A commercial group of condos on 9th and Beach has just passed third reading with absolutely no complaints.
Unlike Peachtree. it conforms to Peachland’s official community plan and is not above three storeys. There have also been a number of new residences built on Beach in the last few years, all of which adhere to the OCP and all Peachland bylaws with respect to height, parking and setbacks from neighbours’ yards. No complaints about any of them. Randey Brophy
Peachland