Proposed Penticton boutique hotel back before city council

PENTICTON – A 20-room boutique hotel at the foot of Munson Mountain moved a step closer to reality yesterday.

The proposal was last considered in May, 2018, when the previous council approved second and third reading for the hotel on agricultural land associated with Poplar Grove Winery, planning manager Blake Laven told Penticton city councillors yesterday, June 18.

The application involved a site specific zoning amendment to allow non-farm use on the agricultural property and a non-farm application to the Agricultural Land Commission.

Open houses and public hearings were held over the issue last year, to generally favourable approval, but earlier this year the land commission rejected the application for non-agricultural use within the land reserve.

The proponents have since revised plans, moving the building off the half acre of the site that is restricted by the land commission.

City staff recommended adopting the bylaw with the changes now in place, noting land commission approval was no longer needed for construction.

Council expressed some concerns about repeating the approval process with the public and the city’s agricultural committee, but eventually agreed changes to the proposal were minor enough further feedback was unnecessary.

The portion of land under agricultural land commission restrictions will be planted in grapes.

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