Hearing to be set next year

Photo: Lark Group

A public hearing will be held for the controversial Banks Crescent seniors development in Summerland, but the date is yet to be determined.

Council discussed Tuesday the Lark Group’s second request for a public hearing on the 400-unit seniors housing complex proposed for Bristow Valley.

Two councillors, Toni Boot and Doug Holmes, didn’t want the project to get that far.

“I am philosophically opposed to this development, I think it’s the wrong development and I think it’s in the wrong location,” Boot said. “I don’t know how the rest of council is feeling, although having it seconded by Coun. Holmes is some indication.”

“I have read the letter that we got from Lark Group and in it they state how much money they have spent already on the moving forward of this application,” she added. “I don’t think it’s fair of me to go on with receiving more information and expecting the Lark Group to continue to shell out money, if I am opposed to this development, which I am.”

The rest of council, however, was looking forward to receiving more information through a public hearing, but not as soon as the developer may like.

Lark Group project manager Malek Tawashy wrote to council earlier this month asking a for a hearing date to be set at Tuesday's meeting.

“I think the whole idea of the public hearing is to have that get together once this information is available,” Mayor Peter Waterman said. “I think that’s the purpose of the public hearing to say, ‘OK, we’ve now brought the information together and everything that we need to make a consideration,’ and I believe we are quite close to doing that.”

Most council members agreed that a date should not be set until early 2018.