City of Penticton offers one open house, four juicy topics

The City of Penticton is offering up four “juicy” topics at one open house later this month.

The hot topics include what legalized pot could look like in the city, suggestions to fix the SOEC parking problem, proposed changes to the city’s building bylaws that will impact the construction industry and how to manage the city’s waste water solids in the future.

The open house is being held at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre on Tuesday, Aug. 28, from 4 to 7 p.m.

“These are four important projects that are in various stages of development, but all at a point of needing input from the community,” said JoAnne Kleb, the city’s engagement strategist. “Blending the topics into a single event is effective use of residents’ time and should create a great environment for juicy dialogue.”

When it comes to the legalization of pot come October, the city has to create necessary policies and procedures. The city surveyed residents in April.

The survey was completed by 1,151 participants. One of the key findings was that 78 per cent of citizens support allowing and regulating legitimate cannabis businesses.

But now the city needs feedback on how that will look here.

Parking, or lack thereof, at the SOEC will be on the table too. Residents were surveyed in May, but city staff did another parking count on July 14 during the John Fogerty concert to capture data during that event. Those findings and suggestions on how to fix the problem will be discussed.

The city plans to modernize its building codes, some to reflect recent changes to the Building Act. The changes will affect requirements for residential and commercial construction, said city planning staff. The city wants feedback with the hopes of bringing new bylaws to council in the fall.

While maybe not a juicy topic, it is a necessary one, said Kleb.

The city has to find ways to manage its solids from waste water treatment plant. Currently, they are being trucked to the Campbell Mountain landfill and composted. The site is aging. The city has researched the best ways to go forward and will be sharing its findings on Aug. 28.