Car dealer earns city praise
A new car dealership has been approved for a “challenging” site along Highway 97 North in Kelowna.
Plans were continually refined for the dealership, to be built on a narrow lot between the highway and the Okanagan Rail Trail.
“It’s been a couple years to get to where we are today,” Matt August of Kelowna Motors Investment Ltd. told city council on Tuesday.
The dealership was approved for a formerly vacant property at 2800 Highway 97 North. Some storage uses had been made of the property and bylaw officers have responded in the past because of complaints about homeless camps.
City planner Dean Strachan told council the site was “quite challenging because it is somewhat squeezed between the rail trail and the highway.”
The property has about 1,000 feet of highway exposure. The company will provide enhanced landscaping along an equivalent length of the rail trail, council heard.
Council granted a minor building variance for the project to proceed and praised the look of the dealership.
“I think you’ve done a beautiful job,” Coun. Luke Stack told August. “It really is a major improvement to the entire entrance to our city.”
“We often wondered, ‘what the heck is anybody going to do with this piece of land, and what can you do with it?’ I guess you can do this. It’s almost visual art coming in,” Coun. Brad Sieben said.
“It’s also a win for people using the rail trail,” said Coun. Maxine DeHart.