PENTICTON — It was hoping to make some big changes along a section of Penticton shoreline but the public has shot down the city’s plans.
The City tried to renege on a more than two-decade old commitment to purchase waterfront properties along Skaha Lake and convert them to park space, but the public wasn’t having it. The land was rezoned as parks and recreation back in the early 1990’s. Current city staff looked to rezone it back to residential, but after public outcry, the plan was knocked down.
It was standing room only at a public hearing in Penticton Tuesday night.
“As a council , don’t lose sight of your main responsibility just to pass bylaws for tomorrow but to pass zoning for the future. If we lose that, we’ll all be looking for somewhere else to live,” said one resident.
“I want it to stay as a park. I’ll be living here the rest of my life and I’m fighting for what I believe in,” said another.
In the end, council heard the message loud and clear, unanimously voting to keep the properties zoned park land. However, it doesn’t mean the land will be public anytime soon. In all the years it’s been trying to purchase the properties from home owners – the City of Penticton has only secured one parcel of land.
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