Peachland falling into Kelowna trap

Dear editor: Greed and ignorance destroyed Kelowna. Kelowna city council disconnected from the people a long time ago and instead logged onto the chamber’s frequency and responded to the constant demand for growth at any cost, to put more customers into their hungry stores. Today the population of Kelowna is 120,000, and the chamber wants another 50,000.

Our city council has adopted the same destructive ambitions, and is determined to grow Peachland bigger and uglier, and the sooner the better.

The corporation of Peachland is like any other corporation, public and private. It is owned and operated by the shareholders, and shareholders elect a board of directors to manage the affairs of the corporation.

The Official Community Plan is the property owners’ detailed and inclusive expression of how the shareholders want to develop their properties. It becomes an integral part of the city’s formal business plan and the associated by-laws are the tools designed and used to implement that plan.

Peachland city council’s pre-occupation with growth is not only in conflict with the OCP, it is a blatant violation of the rights of the shareholders.

A long and ugly strip mall along Beach Avenue is obviously not “sustainable,” because it will change every beautiful detail proposed in our Sustainable Downtown Plan – forever.

An OCP does not become “dated” just because it no longer fits the visions and ambitions of a handful of people who do not have the intellectual capacity to appreciate the value of the last little piece of the original treasure that is the Okanagan valley.

Peachland is a bedroom community and will continue to be so for a long time. Please