The Regional District of North Okanagan’s Areas B and C official community plan draft has hit a bump in the road with its neighbour.
Spallumcheen council defeated a staff recommendation stating it had no objections to the draft. Road access caused the bump and the concern from council members.
The draft plan proposes access via roads within Areas B and C to service development proposed within an adjacent jurisdiction not be supported in advance of access being provided from within the adjacent jurisdiction, or RDNO doesn’t want primary access to development in adjacent communities to come through RDNO.
Spall council’s only concern with the draft OCP is that policy.
Coun. Christine Fraser made the motion to defeat the staff recommendation, and replaced it with the township recommending RDNO support.
“If you go down Baker Hogg Road (in electoral area), you turn right to go down Greenhow Road, which is in the township, to go on to Highway 97A,” said Fraser.
“If you live on the border, we’re going to be using each other’s roads.”
While voting in favour of the recommendation, Coun. Todd York worried the township may appear confrontational.
“I don’t want this to come across as firing a shot over someone’s bow over being displeased over what they’re putting in their OCP,” said York.
“We’re almost arguing over something that’s neither ours nor theirs, and I worry it comes across as confrontational when it doesn’t need to be at this time.”
Coun. Joe Van Tienhoven didn’t take Fraser’s motion as confrontational, just clearing up some issues over talk that Spallumcheen will have a future major development in its southeast sector, which borders the electoral areas.
“I think it clarifies that we’re not going to put in a whole new road for a few new editions to that area,” he said.
“If that area was being fully developed, of course we’d put in our own roads.. This just clarifies that there won’t be a big development for awhile.”
