Photo: Contributed

After hearing from people for and against the Skaha Marina development, Penticton council gave it the green light, Monday night.

Residents packed city council chambers for a special meeting on the development, slated to unfold in phases over the next few years.

After hearing from residents for three hours, council voted 5-2 for the development, with Mayor Andrew Jakubeit and Counc. Tarik Sayeed opposed.

"My rational is I am supportive of the project but want to keep the park like feeling there instead of having a big cluster in one area," said Jakubeit. "I would prefer to keep the park like setting and move some of the parking to the periphery.

But council liked the concept and wanted to see park enhancement there."

The city has been looking at improving the waterfront experience on the city's south end.

And in recent years, they have worked with Trio Marine Group on  development agreements that would see Skaha Lake lands developed into an upgraded marina and water park.

In June, Trio held several public engagement sessions on the matter which were positively received.

On Monday night, both city staff and Trio gave presentations on the development.

There was some support, but several people expressed concerns about the loss of green space and environmental impact.

Roger Hulstein, the marketing coordinator for Trio, said in response to concerns they will be keeping all of the beach public and keeping as much green space as possible, such as integrating existing trees into the park itself.

In addition, the existing splash park will be relocated, he said.

The work itself will be done in phases with the first being to expand and improve the marina, with the group having until 2016 to do that.

The second phase is to add a new restaurant to the marina by 2017 and by 2018 have a water park at the location, according to the mayor.

Council also voted on one amendment: to have 100 per cent of the revenue sharing portion the city would receive put forward to a fund for future parkland acquisition or waterfront amenities.

Next steps involve Trio meeting specific “conditions precedent” as part of the agreement.

Those involve many things in relation to the project, including detailed design drawings and financing. Those must be met before work can begin.

Hulstein said Trio was pleased with council's decision.

"I think it's great that council approved it," he said. "This is just another thing that everyone can enjoy."