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The public will get a chance to voice its opinion when a large-scale development proposed next to Gyro Beach goes to a public hearing.
Kelowna city council gave preliminary approval Monday to a rezoning application needed in order to move the project forward.
The development, proposed by Stober Construction, would sit on the site of the current Willow Creek Campground and an adjacent gravel parking lot.
While specific plans could change slightly, the development currently calls for two towers and approximately 322 units.
City planner Adam Cseke told council the development has undergone several revisions and public consultations over the past few years. Most notably, he says, the original proposal was “scrapped and re-imagined” based on input from both the public and staff.
Cseke says the area has been long identified as one with potential to undergo “significant redevelopment with the greatest opportunity to accelerate urban centre revitalization.”
He says it’s near transit, connects to surrounding neighbourhoods through new streets plus pedestrian and cycling routes, and introduces public and green space alongside residential and commercial densities.
In response to one council question, Cseke says the area has been identified as mixed use commercial-residential through the city’s OCP for the better part of a decade.
“Purely with zoning, this makes perfect sense to me,” Coun. Brad Sieben said.
“Certainly C4 is fitting with this being in an urban town centre. But, for the public listening, anything from a DP or variance perspective would come at a later date.”
Coun. Mohini Singh says she is happy to see the application move on to the next step, which is a public hearing.
“There is a lot of public interest in this,” she says.
“They should have a right to speak. It could be a long night, but that’s the right process to follow.”
Some residents of the area are concerned the area is densifying too fast, saying traffic that is already a nightmare will only get worse without serious upgrades to Lakeshore Road.
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