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Staff with the City of Penticton are recommending council support a 20-room hotel proposed for the Naramata Bench.
A report going before council on Tuesday also recommends the city support the project’s application to the Agricultural Land Commission. About one third of the 1.5-acre property at 468 Lower Bench Road is in the ALR.
Tony Holler, owner of Poplar Grove Winery, is looking to build the luxury hotel adjacent to the winery. He’s hosted a pair of public info sessions for the development, which have brought out residents both in favour and opposed to the plan.
The property has been used as a vacation rental and bed and breakfast for the past decade and has not been farmed in about 45 years.
“Nevertheless, the application has not brought forward any evidence or agrologist report to confirm that the property is not suitable for agricultural uses,” a City of Penticton report states.
“Anecdotal evidence does suggest that the soil quality on the property is quite high. For this reason, staff are recommending that if approval of development on the land is granted, that the top soil be appropriately relocated.”
To further mitigate the loss of farmland, the development proposes planting new vines on the south edge of the property and on a terrace at the front of the hotel.
On Tuesday, council will debate sending the development to public hearing on May 8. After that hearing, council will have to decide if it wants to send a positive recommendation to the ALC, which needs to sign off on the plan.
