Development speed bumps are slowing down plans for a town centre in Coldstream.
Proposed zoning changes, which would allow mixed uses in the area surrounding the municipal hall and Coldstream Elementary on Kalamalka Road, were shot down at a technical committee meeting.
The changes would have made it easier for potential developers to go ahead with ideas for mixed use.
But since there aren’t a lot of developers lining up to do so, the town centre plan has hit the curb for now.
“It would be a different story if we had people knocking at our door, but we don’t at the moment so why push it?” said Mayor Jim Garlick.
Coldstream’s mayor says there are also more pressing projects to deal with at the moment, including the Grid Road and sports complex proposal.
“At the moment it’s not really a high priority.”
But that doesn’t mean the idea for a town centre is dead.
“For a developer to come forward now, that may start it up,” said Garlick.
Survey goes to the trash
Coldstream is kicking the idea of universal garbage collection to the curb.
The North Okanagan Regional District has been distributing a survey about the subject to its partners. But Coldstream doesn’t want any part in it.
“We’ve received a lot of pro and con emails and feedback,” said Coun. Maria Besso. “The feeling was to stay the way we are – to have the freedom for people to choose the service they want.”
Besso questions why universal garbage collection is even being considered at this time.
“We don’t understand why that’s being pushed so hard. We’ve got so much on our plate.”
Park prank
An April Fool’s Day joke has made a lasting impact.
Coldstream’s Centennial Park sign was the subject of an April 1 prank.
“There was a big lettered canvas across the sign that said ‘Sovereign Park,’” reports Coun. Gyula Kiss.
Obviously some local residents are keen to see the park name changed, and their prank has succeeded in persuading local politicians.
Coldstream is asking the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee to change the name of the park from Centennial to Sovereign.
Sovereign was one of the original name suggestions for the park back in 2007, as the family owned much of the park site and sold it to GVSC. But there is a policy not to name parks after people.
Therefore the Centennial name was chosen at the time to recognize Coldstream’s 100th anniversary.
Committee too technical
The politics behind local government are getting too cumbersome, according to one Coldstream councillor.
Coun. Pat Cochrane has issue with the amount of time any one subject is given when it shows up not only at council for debate, but at various committees.
For example, after being debated at the technical committee a subject makes its way to council. But council may defer it to the advisory planning commission, which discusses it then may send it back to the technical advisory committee before it comes to council for a final decision.
“I can just see things literally being dragged out for months and being discussed three times,” said Cochrane, whose suggestion for more of a streamlined process was shot down.
“It’s a waste of our time and it’s not fair to the applicant,” he added, as the subject arose after Coldstream Ranch expressed concerns about the untimely matter its ALR application was dealt with.
Along with meeting twice a month in the council setting, all council members serve on the technical advisory committee (a committee of the whole), where items are often discussed at more length before coming to council for final approval/disapproval.
“There was no committee of the whole last term,” explains Mayor Jim Garlick, who was instrumental in initiating it.
Along with the technical committee and advisory commission, Coldstream has an agricultural advisory committee, economic development advisory committee, environmental advisory committee, finance committee, fire department liaison committee and Kalavista neighbourhood committee. All of these committees are made up of members of the community and include one or two council representatives.
