The City of Kelowna isn’t walking back council’s decision to quash the development permit that would have seen hundreds of rental units built on the site of the old police station.
The city responded this week to a petition filed in September by companies, 350 Doyle Avenue Holdings Inc. and Centurian Appelt Ltd, which are pursuing financial compensation in response to council rescinding a long-held development permit.
The city is asking the court to dismiss the developers’ petition with costs, or if the court finds the decision to step back the development permit was unfair or unreasonable, to turn the matter back to the city for reconsideration.
The basis of Kelowna city council’s decision to put an end to a development permit that had been in the works since 2019 — an aversion to the late discovery that the developer paid a $250 per diem to each student who weighed in on the controversial project during a public consultation process — shouldn’t have been a sticking point, the developer argued.
They claimed those who participated were compensated for their travel time and expenses, not their views and it was procedurally unfair to walk back the permit.
The city, however, said in its response that among other things, the payment could potentially taint the process in the public’s view, meaning it is within council’s bounds to analyze and re-address the issue, especially since they weren’t properly informed of the per diem before reaching a decision.
“If the conduct of participants in a public hearing process is considered by the municipal council to raise a perception of impropriety, it is a matter for council’s judgment alone with respect to the assessment of the significance of the impropriety and the procedural response,” the city said in its response.
“Council determined that a material fact had been unavailable to it when it made the decision to approve the Development Permit and Development Variant Permit. The amounts paid to speakers were not trifling, and they cannot be taken to amount to “coffee and cinnamon buns” as argued by the developer.”
A hearing date has yet to be set.
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