Penticton's Vertical Growth

The City of Penticton is growing up. Literally.

One of the issues discussed at Wednesday night's City Council Meeting was the city's changing appearance.

Council voted to postpone a proposal to build three seven story residential buildings on Abbott St. until the next council meeting. Several members of the community came forth at the last city Council meeting to protest the height of the proposed buildings, saying the size would obstruct their view and create problems because of the sudden influx of people in their area.

Councilor Joanne Grimaldi says as Penticton continues to grow, new building developments are going to go up, instead of out.

“I think it is important when we are at a cross roads in our community's future that we do it right and we do it carefully even if it means we have to have another public hearing for this particular development,” says Grimaldi.

Councilor Garry Litke says the Official City Plan (OCP) does not address the need for high density housing in the community.

“There have been a number of applications to amend the OCP, and last January we set about reviewing the OCP in order to accommodate the demand for high density housing,”says Litke.

Litke says that the council has been hearing from architects, and community planners on how the city should look in the future and where the high density housing should go. He says they will be holding public meetings on June 20th and 22nd to take public opinion.