Chute Lake Lodge gets green light to expand
A backcountry resort between Penticton and Kelowna that can trace its roots back to the days of the Kettle Valley Railway is now ready to enter the 21st century.
Owners of Chute Lake Lodge this week received regulatory approval to legitimize the long-time operation and clear the way for new development.
“The build-out will happen gradually so it’s not all at once and doesn’t disturb the existing users,” explained Pat Field, who does management work for the Kenyon family, which purchased the site in 2018.
At present, the resort boasts a lodge with six rooms, eight cabins, four yurts, 11 glamping tents, dry campsites and RV sites.
The long-term vision would see 20 fully serviced cabins, 10 yurts, 15 glamping tents, a 10-room lodge and washroom facilities.
Field said construction is underway already on the first new cabin and the owners are also eyeing restoration work along the lake front near the resort to undo changes put in place decades ago when a sawmill was operating on the site, which is under the jurisdiction of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
Following a public hearing Thursday morning at which nobody spoke, the RDOS board unanimously approved the required amendments to the local zoning bylaw and official community plan that will permit the resort to expand onto adjacent leased Crown land, put up new buildings with cooking facilities and formalize use as a campground.
Prior to the decision, the site had a patchwork of zoning designations that reflected its varied past uses.
While the RDOS board saw no problems with the plans, the Penticton Indian Band and Interior Health expressed opposition.
Interior Health’s concerns stem from the resort’s sewer and water systems, while the PIB raised the broader issue of aboriginal title and rights.
A letter from the band states the Chute Lake area is of high cultural and archeological significance, and the consultation process for the rezoning was “exceedingly questionable.”
Chute Lake, which is located just east of Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, became a water stop on the KVR in 1915. In the decades that followed, the lake became a popular recreational site. The resort opened in 1985.