Wrong place for hotel & spa

West Kelowna residents are concerned over proposed amendments to city’s zoning bylaws and the (proposed) location for a 188-unit resort hotel.

If the Whistler, B.C. developer’s application is successful, the land adjacent to Shannon View Drive, which is currently zoned low-density housing, would be rezoned to commercial tourism.

The City of West Kelowna received the initial Baden Hotel/Spa application in December 2020. This past July the developer hosted a public meeting where Brett Murdoch, chief architect (of the project), described it as a “Whistler-style” resort consisting of 10 buildings, including a 188-unit hotel, spa, parking for 159 vehicles, employees’ residence and 10 cabins.

He said while the building mass, or footprint, may be substantial, the appearance of massing is “somewhat controlled.”

Residents in attendance voiced several concerns regarding potential changes in the zoning bylaws, the proposed location, and the negative impact a commercial development would have on the residential neighbourhood.

A petition to stop the rezoning application has received nearly 700 signatures with most supporters wanting the characteristic and integrity of the neighbourhood to be respected.

One resident, Garth Ink, said when he purchased his property, he did his due diligence and checked the zoning for this area. He felt it should not be changed now.

Concerns regarding the location along Shannon View Drive include the degradation of the character and aesthetic integrity of the neighbourhood, loss of potential affordable housing due to rezoning, lack of emergency egress and traffic, infrastructure and parking issues.

We want a well-planned, livable community. This project needs to compliment businesses and services (Westbank Town centre), tourism (lakefront, wineries) and have adequate access (arterial roads). This proposed location has none of these.

In June, the City of West Kelowna presented the proposal to the Advisory Planning Commission. Although city planner Carla Eaton indicated the application was “very early on” and no technical documents and reports were available at the time, the APC gave the application unanimous support.

The development was likened to the Sparkling Hills resort near Vernon but a Google maps comparison of the two properties shows drastically different development of the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Earlier this month the city planning department held Plan West Kelowna public meetings asking residents to provide feedback on how and where development should occur.

The feedback will guide the city towards a revised Official Community Plan. Through dialog with residents and results from an interactive mapping platform, participants identified the need for affordable housing and that reducing residential zoning is not in our city’s best interest.

Mayor Gord Milsom and city council received a letter from a community group representing 625 residents identifying several viable alternatives to the Shannon View Drive location.

The Goats Peak Comprehensive Development Plan, north of Goats Peak Regional Park, has already been approved for a variety of land-use developments. Incorporating a commercial resort in conjunction with residential, park and town centre development has great merit.

The Goats Peak location has better access from major arterial corridors to the lakeshore, to trails, to Westbank Town Centre and to businesses and services.

The Raymer CD area is located at the northern end of the city and includes parks, agricultural uses, village centre with residential and commercial components. The plan includes phasing and implementation of services, roads, and amenities to ensure orderly development.

This area would also be an excellent location for a hotel/spa and could be developed in conjunction with residential, park, village centre development.

Tom Groat, Residents Opposing Zoning Bylaw Changes steering committee