Photo: Contributed

The City of Kelowna may need to revisit its building standards.

That was the opinion of some on city council after giving a lukewarm endorsement for a 36-unit townhouse development on Rutland Road North.

"I am a little nervous about this," said Coun. Luke Stack while giving the development a cautionary endorsement.

"When we look at our Imagine Kelowna, and some of the discussions we had, we said we really should be striving for stuff that will really look good in our community. Somewhere down the line you have to establish that, and say these are the standards we are looking for."

The six-building development invoked concerns about similar colour schemes and the use of tandem and two-car garages.

"I'm not asking for a lot more effort, I'm just asking for it to look a little bit better," said Coun. Maxine DeHart.

"We've been striving to get Rutland and that area looking really nice, and I think council has done an extraordinary job. But, for this to come forward like this, there's no way.

"I think we need to do a better job."

Coun. Mohini Singh, who supported the project, did have concerns about coming in with minimum standards.

"We are at a stage in our evolution as a city where we don't look for minimum," she said.

"We need to look for the best, and why not. We can ask for the best."

Singh said she threw her support behind the project, indicating the developer says drawings provided to council do not represent what he wants the final product to look like.

Council voted 7-2 to issue a development permit.