COLDSTREAM, B.C. – The third and final meeting to gather input on a proposed outdoor amphitheatre managed to further upset neighbours, who expressed concern over the lack of consultation.
“They’re not allowing us to talk,” said Joan Rowan, who lives next door to the proposed site in Coldstream.
Organizers of Tuesday night’s event repeatedly put off questions until the end of the evening, saying they were attempting to stick to the agenda for the two-hour event.
“Hold your thought,” said the moderator, when hands were raised during the open house event.
Residents like Rowan told Global News they were “pissed off” and “frustrated”.
“All we want to tell them is find another location,” said Rowan, who is concerned about potential noise, traffic congestion, parking issues and the destruction of the ravine proposed as the amphitheatre’s location below the Okanagan College campus near Vernon.
Members of the Okanagan Summer Festivals Society will use the residents input, even the opposition, to form a business plan by October.
One unidentified event organizer spontaneously addressed the crowd with the microphone, and said, “I mean that sincerely, if I were a neighbour, I’d be here. I’d be expressing exactly the same kind of comments that you are.”
Diane Bond, a society spokesperson, said the project is in its infancy and there are few answers to residents’ concerns, but the location is believed to be ideal.
“This is the kind of project that will put the entire region on the map for cultural tourism,” said Bond.