I am writing to express my concern and dissatisfaction with the plan to build an amphitheatre in the gully below Okanagan College. It will surely have an impact on the value of our homes, our quality of life and the preservation of a small slice of natural habitat. We deserve to have a say in whether it goes ahead or not and I am emphatically against it.
I live on Fitzmaurice Drive and the sounds in this area carry amazingly. We can hear Alexander’s Pub, special occasions at the Kalamalka Country Club, the dragon boat races, kids at the beach and even the events at Funtastic. When none of those is disturbing my sleep, I can hear the ducks and geese all night and the odd dog barking across the lake. What we do not need is a venue right in our neighbourhood that is the source of amplified sound. Even if it were always chamber music and Shakespeare, it would not be a welcome intrusion.
Parking and access to parking is a huge concern for me. Even if 1,500 people park at the college and DND, can you imagine what an additional 3,500 cars would look like milling around on our roads looking for a parking place? There is nowhere to park on the streets here.
It would also be a shame to lose the last remaining piece of natural, glaciated gully anywhere around here. Truly, another location is needed for this project. It will never be a good neighbour, but it would be not quite so offensive if it were built in a remote location and people could then have a choice if they wanted to build houses around it. To allow such a development in an established neighbourhood is unfair to everyone who lives here.
It is also contentious for me that the impetus for this project is from Kelowna and Vancouver. I do not feel that it represents the interests of people in Coldstream or Vernon. That this is the only site they know about does not make it the right one.
Cheryl Jennings
Coldstream
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