Stop the Gellatly Road OCP and Zoning Amendment

In late August 2021 a development application for two 10-storey buildings and one 8-storey building at the current boat storage yard (4058 and 4066 Gellatly Road) was made. While the project renderings are aesthetically pleasing they are misleading and leave the impression that the buildings will be much smaller than the developer proposes. Overall, the height and density being requested for this project is wrong. Local residents are concerned that this 250 unit development will have serious consequences for the residents of this neighbourhood, as well as, all other residents of West Kelowna who utilize Gellatly Bay for their recreation including:

- Investment and Transparency Concerns
This proposal is seeking a 2.3 FAR and 39m height which contradicts the current Official Community Plan (OCP), the Gellatly Village Amendment, and ignores the public feedback collected thus far for our new OCP.
The City of West Kelowna is not experienced with buildings over 6 stories and given the limited real estate available at our irreplaceable waterfront there is grave concern using this site as a “test” location.
Development Cost Charges (DCCs) are scheduled to increase and any new development, especially a development of this scale, needs to fall under these new charges to ensure the developer, not the taxpayer, is accountable for the related long term infrastructure needed to sustain these requests.

- Safety Concerns
This area is a popular walking and biking corridor. Access to the development is being proposed via two perimeter roads which are closely located to existing residential access roads, Flying Horse Drive and Angus Drive. This presents numerous concerns for additional traffic congestion, concerns regarding emergency access, and higher risk to pedestrians and cyclists. The renderings presented as part of the Development Application are not accurate. The renderings show a much wider roadway with parking lanes reversed and fail to include the existing cyclist lanes, proposed building access road, nor the current crosswalk.

- Lack of Enjoyment Concerns
The height of the proposed development at 39m plus an additional 3.5m to compensate for rooftop structures (i.e. a total request of 42.5m or 139.4’) will conflict, rather than harmonize, with to the existing neighbourhood landscape of low-rise developments and single family homes; will reduce access to our beaches by making an already popular location less accessible to residents and visitors alike; will likely have a detrimental late afternoon shadowing effect on Willow Beach and the Gellatly Recreational Corridor; and negatively impact the view of existing residences in surrounding neighbourhoods

- Parking Concerns
The proposed development includes one parking spot per unit with 25 visitor spaces which at this location is NOT enough.
A public parkade should be incorporated into this design which supports day-use parking for vehicles with boat trailers. If a public parking element is not included then the City of West Kelowna has to identify a public parking solution BEFORE any additional development approvals are granted in this area.