City’s hands tied on Spiller Road?
Controversial housing project has gone dormant for now, but is expected to reappear after election
One of the local politicians vying to be the next mayor of Penticton warned Tuesday the city may have painted itself into a corner with its handling of a controversial housing development proposed for the Naramata Bench.
City council on Tuesday received the results of a public consultation exercise conducted earlier this summer to gauge opinions on Canadian Horizons’ proposed 112-home project on its 51-hectare property at 1050 Spiller Rd.
Results from 520 feedback forms showed 79% of respondents were opposed to the project specifically, while 54% were opposed to any development on that property, according to a staff report presented to council.
Planning manager Audrey Tanguay told council that Canadian Horizons, after receiving consultation results, withdrew its applications for amendments to the local zoning bylaw and Official Community Plan that were required for what was to have been a country estate-type development.
The company has now submitted a fresh plan that complies with the existing zoning, according to city planning manager Audrey Tanguay, who offered no details but said the new application “will be reviewed in the next few months, internally”
Given that approximately half of the site is currently zoned for country residential housing, while a smaller portion is designated for a mobile home park, Canadian Horizons’ most recently withdrawn plan “could have been a good compromise,” said Coun. Julius Bloomfield, who earlier Tuesday announced his intention to run for mayor in the Oct. 15 municipal election.
“However, there are many other hurdles for this development before it goes ahead and the major one is the resistance to the development by the (Penticton Indian Band)… because it’s their territory as well and we need to get their approval before anything moves forward.”
Bloomfield also warned that if Canadian Horizons’ latest application indeed fits with city regulations for the site, any move by council to block it could put the municipality in a “very, very difficult legal position.”
Mayor John Vassilaki, who is seeking to hang onto his chair, went a step further and suggested council may only get to weigh in on future versions of the project when it comes time to issue a hillside development permit “and I am very concerned about what’s going to happen there.”
Vassilaki said he also remains concerned about development on the site because of its proximity to the Campbell Mountain Landfill and the condition of Naramata Road.
Council voted unanimously to receive the consultation results for information only, then voted 6-1 to use the results to assess any future development applications for the site.
The lone opposing vote was cast by Coun. James Miller, whose concerns focused on opposition from the PIB, which has fought the project since 2018 due to fears it will cut off access to land used by its members for hunting, gathering and other cultural purposes, and the public at large.
Canadian Horizons’ first proposal to develop the property included 300 homes, but council shot it down in February 2021 at the first available opportunity.