The Village of Kettle Valley in Kelowna is facing backlash after a petition which they say inaccurately depicts the situation, when it comes to the development of land they have owned for 20 years.
Stephen Wells, General Manager of Kettle Valley, said they first applied for zoning for the village in 1996, and were required to set aside two plots of land for future schools, including Chute Lake Elementary and another at Thalia Street and Quilchena Drive in case a second school needed to be built.
Since then, they’ve had an agreement with School District 23 that they could buy the land if they wanted to. In the last two years, SD23 decided that if they do build a school, it would be in The Ponds, a community in Upper Mission not too far from Kettle Valley.
According to Wells, their 1996 agreement stated that if SD23 said they weren’t interested in purchasing the land, the developer, Kettle Valley, could move forward with developing it.
In the meantime, the City of Kelowna has used part of the property as a sport’s field, which was developed by Kettle Valley and maintained and insured by the City. For the past two decades, Kettle Valley has leased that section of land to the City for $1 a year.
“The public in general had the luxury of using private land for the past 20 years,” said Wells. “Now what’s happened is the School District is no longer interested in buying it, the City has made it perfectly clear that they’re not interested in buying it, so the land developer has decided to develop it and we are well within our rights to develop it.”
When they decided to go ahead with the development of the land, they welcomed community feedback through open houses and a survey. Most residents expressed concerned over losing the sports field so Kettle Valley made the decision that they will donate a percentage of land to the City, closer to Quilchena Park, that the City would own and could maintain in the future as a sport’s field.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be a great facility for all the residents. Not only will they be right next to Quilchena Park, they’ll have this space where they can hold different events, like ‘Movie in the Park.’
“It’s going to be quite a park, quite a facility.”
The rest of the land will be developed into housing, but according to Wells, that’s just a concept right now. They are still in the process of creating a plan, which they insist will take into account ideas and thoughts from residents.
So far, they are pretty sure there will be three housing components to the development, a multifamily unit—likely townhouses, some large lots and some ‘slim’ lots.
“This would allow different incomes to be able to come up into Kettle Valley,” said Wells. “They’ll be able to afford to be up here; we call it a mixed-use community.”
Wells said the development will keep with the original architectural style of the homes in the area, and there will likely be height restrictions so views aren’t obstructed.
For those concerned that the neighbourhood will be overrun with people and cars, Wells said that will not be the case.
Kettle Valley has been approved for 1,028 units, and have not asked for any additional ones. In fact, they will only be building about 84 units, according to Wells. He also said a school would bring more traffic than housing.
Wells said there are many misconceptions about the situation, but even if they weren’t allowed to develop it, the overgrown plot of land, and possibly the sport’s field, would likely be shut down because of liability concerns.
“It’s unfortunate that a few residents have banded together and put out this petition which is laden with inaccurate information,” Wells said. “It’s really making us look bad.”
The petition mentions a “non-perennial stream” on the land, which it says kids enjoy exploring, playing and building things in, and that it also attracts seasonal wildlife.
Wells said the “stream” is actually a natural storm drain, which also collects washout from the street.
He said Kettle Valley is in the process of putting together a rebuttal that will refute all the points on the petition, which has so far gotten the support of almost 600 people.
“We feel that a lot of the signatures were solicited based on inaccurate information,” he said.
Gary Athans, who created the petition, said he did it to raise awareness on the issue, in hopes of preserving the green space.
“That’s basically what we’re trying to achieve,” said Athans. “It’s their land, they have the right to do what they want to it, to a certain degree, but, is there another option?”
As a group, he said they might try and raise funds to propose buying it from developers, look into grants, or look at other options so that it can remain a type of park.
“It’s one of the last level field areas in the Upper Mission,” he said. “That area has really been enjoyed by many people and we’re trying to make a difference to continue it.
“What a great thing to have for future generations.”
He said they would like to see a new baseball diamond, a second tennis court, or at least some type of sports field. He hadn’t heard that they had decided to relocate the field, but said he was happy to hear they will at least do that.
“That’s good news. I didn’t know that for sure,” said Athans. “It would be great if they did.”
