Nearby residents of the proposed Timmins development project had plenty of questions for the city of Penticton during an information session held Thursday night.
Over 27 people listened in and asked questions about the development proposed for the area near Timmins Street and Railway beside the Canadian Tire and Okanagan College.
Several neighbours expressed their concern for traffic on Timmins and Scott and as far as Moosejaw where they say vehicle congestion is already heavy.
The City of Penticton has received an application to develop the property into two, five-storey apartment buildings and 81 townhouse units, for a total of 229 units.
According to the city’s Anthony Haddad, a traffic study of Timmins and Scott was done for this proposal and the results were that the area functions normally for the capacity of traffic.
“There is an advantage to connect this development to the existing neighbourhood,” said Haddad.
Council voted unanimously to take the project to public consultation.
This proposal will require an amendment to the Official Community Plan (OCP) to change the future land use designation for the property from industrial and urban residential to urban residential.
One person asked if there could be an intersection and light out of the Canadian Tire laneway onto Highway 97, a notoriously difficult area.
But the Ministry of Highways, who owns Highway 97, said they would not put a light or intersection at Canadian Tire, said Haddad.
The project had previously gone to council in 2018, but concerns from the Ministry of the Environment over site contamination delayed the project until the process began for the new Official Community Plan, after which the original proposal was cancelled.
Since then, the developer has made adjustments to their plan, including getting the support of the Ministry of the Environment.
The development of that size is required to have 285 parking spaces but this developer is offering 346 spots should the project get approval.
The public has until Aug. 29 to have their say at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca.
Once the feedback is collected it will be shared with council, the community, as well as the applicant in preparation for council to consider giving the first reading to the amendments. If first reading is given to the amendment bylaws, the community will have another opportunity to provide input as part of the statutory public hearing for the OCP amendment and rezoning application.
That timeline hasn’t been set.
READ MORE: Penticton residents have say on large housing proposal
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