Penticton city council to hold public hearing regarding Skaha Park developments

Penticton residents will have a chance to tell their mayor and council how they feel about an amended development deal for Skaha Park.

A public meeting will be held at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre on Nov. 23 at 6 p.m.

The meeting involves a controversial development plan that the city entered into with Trio Marine Group in August of 2015. The original plan included a waterslide park built on green space at the park.

The city said it received an a new proposal from Trio Marine Group by the Oct. 1 deadline.

However Penticton mayor Andrew Jakubeit told Global News he and council wanted to discuss the new plan before speaking to the public about it.

READ MORE: Delay in Skaha Park plans

The new plan, which was not released to the public until early November, removed the waterslide portion of the development.

But the community remains divided on if the new proposal goes far enough to protect the park’s green space.

READ MORE: Some residents still against new proposal for Skaha Lake park

The new deal opened the doors for Trio Marine Group to propose an amenity to be built in the park in 2019, with full public consultation.

This week, mayor and council removed that amenity portion of the plan.

A spokesperson for the Save Skaha Park Society (SSPS) told Global News, at the surface, this latest version of the plan, without a park amenity, looks to be an improvement.

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SSPS and the Penticton Citizens First group have filed lawsuits against the city.

A spokesperson for Penticton Citizens First, Nelson Meikle, told Global News, he would like to see the city get out of this deal with the developer completely, and start from scratch.

“We do not believe that further commercial activity within our beautiful Skaha Park is required at this time,” Meikle said in a news release.

“[We] have requested that the City of Penticton agree not to sign any further agreements with Trio Marine Inc. nor any other interested parties until after May 2017 when a new Expression of Interest could be presented to Penticton residents for their acceptance.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "[We] have requested that the City of Penticton agree not to sign any further agreements with Trio Marine Inc. nor any other interested parties until after May 2017 when a new Expression of Interest could be presented to Penticton residents for their acceptance."

The meeting will begin with a staff presentation from Acting CAO Mitch Moroziuk followed by a community input period.