Amphitheatre concerns

I am writing to express my concern and dissatisfaction with the plan to build an amphitheatre in the gully below the Okanagan College. It feels like such a violation to be told that this project is going ahead without a public consultation process. It will surely have an impact on the value of our homes, our quality of life and the preservation of a small slice of natural habitat.  We deserve to have a say in whether it goes ahead or not and I am emphatically against it.
 
I live on Fitzmaurice Drive and sounds in this area carry amazingly. We can hear Alexander’s Pub, special occasions at the Kalamalka Country Club, the Dragon Boat Races, kids at the beach and even the events at Funtastic. When none of those is disturbing my sleep, I can hear the ducks and geese all night and the odd dog barking across the lake. What we do not need is a venue right in our neighbourhood that is the source of amplified sound. Even if it were always chamber music and Shakespeare, it would not be a welcome intrusion. The thought of big name music concerts and their attendant din is a horrible thought.
 
Parking and access to parking is a huge concern for me. Even if 1,500 people park at the college and DND, can you imagine what an additional 3,500 cars would look like milling around on our roads looking for a parking place? There is nowhere to park on the streets here! We have to stop and wait for neighbours driving up or down the road when there are any cars parked on our road, let alone on both sides. Some streets are a little wider, but there would still only be room for a few hundred cars and it would be a serious inconvenience for all the residents in many surrounding blocks.
 
It would also be a shame to lose the last remaining little piece of natural gully left anywhere around here. Many of the new houses in our neighbourhood have been built on terrain that used to be similar, and now the only part left untouched is below the college. Besides the natural plants, many animals live in the gully. What is to become of them when the place is overrun with buildings, visitors and cars?
 
Truly, another location is needed for this project. It will never be a good neighbour, but it would be not quite so offensive if it were built in a more remote location and people could have a choice if they want to build houses around it. To allow such a development in an established neighbourhood is unfair to everyone who lives here.
 
I am writing to everyone I can think of to request that they do the right thing and stop this development near the college. I am sure that another suitable site can be found at some point. It is also contentious for me that the impetus for this project is from Kelowna. I do not feel that it represents the interests of people in Coldstream or Vernon. That this is the only site they know about does not make it the right one. 

Cheryl Jennings