It was standing-room only in Peachland’s council chambers Tuesday night with residents packing the room to hear what council had to say about what has arguably become one of the most controversial developments the community of 5,000 has had to deal with in a long time.
Council has approved a five storey multi-use building on Beach Avenue, even though the town’s official community plan stipulates no more than three storeys on that street.
Some angry citizens have launched court action against the district for ignoring its own rules.
So council voted to change the wording in its OCP to head off a costly court case.
The meeting was delayed from the beginning when the town’s fire chief pointed out that there were too many people in the room and some would have leave for safety reasons.
The meeting was finally about to get underway when it hit another bump on the road.
Councillor Terry Condon, the only councillor who has spoken out against the height of the building, declared himself to be in conflict of interest because he donated to the legal campaign launched by some of the citizens against the district.
After Condon left the room, the vote on changing the wording to the OCP finally took place.
The vote was unanimous, but the controversy is far from over.
A public hearing on the OCP changes will be held at the end of the month — this time in a gymnasium.
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