City should demand changes to apartment plan

Editor:

Highstreet Ventures is proposing to build an apartment complex in the Witt/Majoros Road neighbourhood of West Kelowna. They say they “are providing the Àrst large rental community in West Kelowna.”

This will not be affordable housing, but rather, the apartments will be managed by Highstreet and rented out at “market value.” We have some concerns about this development, which I will list below. We ask council to not grant the variances Highstreet is asking for as this will set precedence for future rental developments. We would like to see quality rather than quantity in this project.

Safety Issues: Highstreet wishes vehicle traffic to enter and exit the complex via Majoros Road. This will effectively double the trafÀc in our neighbourhood. These are narrow roads, with little in the way of shoulders, one sidewalk and many ditches. There is another piece of land zoned R5 next to this project, which only has access onto Majoros, even more trafÀc can be anticipated. An alternative for the Highstreet project would be a vehicle access onto Carrington Road

Surrounding roads could not handle the volume of trafÀc for left turns

The construction company wishes to use Witt and Majoros as the primary access for the site. This is dangerous for pedestrians and neighbourhood vehicles.

The proposed playground for Carate Park’s surrounded on three sides by the busiest roads of the neighbourhood and has no sidewalks around it.

Costs to West Kelowna Taxpayers: In the not-too-distant future, there will be a need, for safety reasons, to upgrade the neighbourhood roads and put sidewalks in.

Highstreet would like to gift 2.01 hectares of land alongside Smith Creek to the City as green space. This land is subject to Áooding and has known slope slippage issues.

Why would the city want land that could be a huge ongoing problem and cost much money to Àx?

Carate Park: Highstreet is willing to donate $30,000 towards a playground for this park in exchange for lack of amenity space. This is a bad location for a playground. The neighbourhood doesn’t want it. If the city accepts the green space, it is right across the street and does $30,000 cover the cost of developing the park and playground? Not to mention the ongoing cost of insurance and maintenance. Seems to me the city would be better off selling the lot for single-family housing.

Highstreet’s Unneighbourliness: No consultation with the neighbourhood.

Questions were asked of the city planners last summer regarding what the surveying on the properties was about. No answers were given.

A neighbour voiced concerns over the placement of the garbage system on his property line to a Highstreet spokeswoman. He was laughed at.

The community building provides a two-storey building with Àreplace lounge with ample seating opening up to a large deck with tables and lake view.

There is also a Àre pit gathering area beside the community building.

“Tenants are encouraged to enjoy the outdoors and the lake view while meeting with their neighbors … Residents are free to use this space at any time,” the company says.

It has also been noted that the community building is closer to the neighborhood houses on Majoros than it is to the apartment buildings.

Altogether, this is an unsatisfactory project, one which many have said they wouldn’t like to live beside.

We understand city council’s hands are tied regarding this project in many ways. That doesn’t mean we have to roll over and play ball. We can make this project better and we can make it more neighbourhood friendly. We would like to see something on this land that West Kelowna can be proud of.

Please, postpone issuance of the development permit and require Highstreet to redesign components of the proposal in accordance with city’s zoning bylaw. We urge you to reject the variances and make Highstreet redesign the site plan and building layout.

Make sure this project is one that you, as the city’s representatives, want.