A Peachland association is filing a court petition against the district over a contentious Beach Avenue development application.
The Friends of Beach Avenue Association filed a petition to the Supreme Court of B.C. Wednesday regarding the proposed PeachTree Village project, a five-storey commercial/residential development set to be built on Beach Avenue.
“The zoning that was given with the height is in complete contravention of the Official Community Plan,” said Lloyd Sotas, spokesperson for the association.
The town and council seem to believe it’s just a guideline, he said.
“We are not opposed to the proponent building three storeys high without all of the variants (the developer) has asked for.”
He compared Peachland to Kelowna, saying Kelowna’s development has affected its transportation system.
“Untrammelled development has been tough on residents to get around. If we have it here, the same thing could happen,” Sotas said. “People come to Peachland because it’s a quaint town… where you can come have a beer on the waterfront. It’s a walkable town, we’d like to keep it that way.”
The neighbour next to the building will have to look at a wall, he added.
The petition says Peachtree Village is in direct conflict with the OCP, the Neighbourhood and Downtown plans and is a violation of the Local Government Act.
In September, council voted 6-1 vote to rezone land for the PeachTree Village.
One of the concerns from the public made during the meeting was the new building will be five storeys high, where Peachland’s Official Community Plan lists three as a maximum, “but that’s not a legal-binding contract,” said Mayor Cindy Fortin, told the Capital News at the time.
Fortin said the OCP was made more than 10 years ago.
“When it was done, if the people who worked on it knew what we know now about development downtown, they might’ve come back with different recommendations,” she said, in the previous interview.
Fortin declined to comment on the court petition.
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