Kelowna wants input on how residents and amenities can live together

KELOWNA – Would you be comfortable with condos and commercial spaces cheek by jowl with the Okanagan Heritage Museum and the Kelowna Community Theatre?

That’s one of the ideas that has come out of the ongoing consultation over the so-called civic block, which includes those buildings and others in the area.

“We’ve had great input from the community into the civic block plan so far. Now we’re looking at options to add residential and commercial uses on a few key sites to increase activity in the area and help fund these improvements and we want more feedback from the community,” planning special Ross Soward said in a news release.

Support for mixed residential and commercial use emerged during previous consultation sessions. Adding them in could help pay for features such as a public plaza and performing arts centre, Soward said, but also have the potential to affect the character of the area with changes to building heights.

That’s why the city is conducting an online survey complete with maps showing the options for a residential component for the civic block. Residents have until August 29 to complete the survey.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.