Lakeshore resort dock project scaled back after community airs concerns

KELOWNA – The Manteo Resort Waterfront Hotel in Kelowna didn’t have to change one piling for its new dock going up in Okanagan Lake, but after an outcry from the neighbours and the community the owner decided to do the right thing.

Adrian Block will remove about two dozen pilings for the dock and boat slips going up in front of the beach at Rotary Park.

Bob Whitehead with the KLO Neighbourhood Association says Block has solved a complicated problem for local politicians.

“Manteo had all the necessary approvals. There was no need on his part to change anything,” Whitehead says. “When we showed him how it would block the view from Rotary Park he agreed to modify his plans, at his own expense.”

Block and members of the Neighbourhood Association met Thursday to discuss impacts to the view from the beach and safety worries.

Whitehead says Block had already been jumping through government hoops for seven years to get his dock expansion approved, adding he didn’t have to change his plans.

Manteo originally planned to have 172 new boat slips in the lake. Now there will be 142.

And it wasn't just the people who lived in the area against the project. The local kiteboarding community had registered their concerns as well.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infotelnews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.