City council in Kelowna, B.C., will be asked next week to rescind the development permit it issued for a highly desirable piece of property in the downtown core.
The site at 350 Doyle Ave., former home of the Kelowna RCMP and now an empty lot, has been the subject of endless speculation since 2015. Should it be transformed into a highrise? An arts and entertainment hub? A grand collaboration of mixed-use development?
Eventually, after the detachment was demolished in December 2018, the lot went up for lease, with council being swayed by highrise developer Appelt Properties following a lengthy process.
That process included making appearances before council, with the city setting a height of 13 storeys, though that was later increased to 25 storeys through a variance permit.
However, Monday’s city council package said that in October 2022, “the city and council-elect began to receive statements that some of the public intervenors had been paid to speak in favour of the 350 Doyle application.”
The package said “in particular, the mayor received an email in early January from one individual confirming that at the request of a friend, he and several others had spoken in favour of the project and ‘was paid $250 via e-transfer for my comments.’”
“It erodes public trust in council it erodes public trust in the development community, this speaks to a much larger problem that we need to dig deeper into,” said concerned resident, Les Bellamy.
“I’m questioning what occurred last year, what kind of environment was created by former mayor, Colin Basran and his council that allowed this kind of thing to happen and for a developer to exploit young people like this with essentially bribe money.”
The report then said “upon further investigation by staff, Appelt Properties confirmed a company hired by them to engage with the public did provide ‘nominal expenses’ to an unspecified number of persons who spoke in support of the application during the meeting.”
According to the city, 24 people made submissions on behalf of the developer on July 26, 2022, with half referencing the need for affordable housing, student housing or affordable student housing.
“One of the persons speaking in favour, who referenced the need for student housing, was the principal of JDH Naturals,” said the city document.
“Five members of council made reference to either affordable or student housing as being an issue of concern for them during the course of their remarks.”
Calling it a “tainted process,” the document said staff will recommend to council to rescind the July 26, 2022, motions authorizing the development and variance permit for 350 Doyle Avenue.
It also said that staff will recommend Appelt Properties be invited to submit a development for council’s consideration.
The item will appear before council on Monday. The council document is available online.
Global News reached out to Appelt Properties, which issued a statement on Saturday.
The company said the students who expressed views on the housing crisis in Kelowna may have missed work shifts, travelled long distances or had long hours of involvement in the process.
“A public-relations vendor engaged by Appelt supported a group of these students with information on the project, communications advice and a per diem reimbursement of $250 CAD that would offset missed work shifts, travel and inconvenience,” said the company.
“To suggest that the students did not care about these issues is insulting to those who participated and serves to detract from the very valid concerns raised on behalf of students broadly, as well as others who struggle to find viable housing solutions in this city.
“To be clear, no policies or rules were broken nor did anything untoward take place and to suggest otherwise is not credible. We question the real motivations behind this latest impediment imposed by the city to the progress of the project.”
Lastly, it said, “frankly, we believe this recent news is the result of advocacy from a self-interested anti-housing group that has opposed this project since the original RFP and serves to harm Kelowna’s city hall, worsen the growing housing crisis and negatively impact many who would benefit from the project.”