Kelowna could open Okanagan Lake access by buying three lakeshore properties for sale

KELOWNA – Three adjoining properties are for sale along Okanagan Lake that beach-walking enthusiasts want the city to buy so the foreshore can be opened to the public.

“There's only one major barrier to people walking the lakeshore between Gyro and Rotary – two of Kelowna's most popular beaches,” Al Janusas of PLANKelowna told iNFOnews.ca in an email.

They are just north of Rotary Beach and have rocky areas that block access along the shore.

The public has the right to access Okanagan Lake below the high water mark. But that mark is usually not indicated anywhere and property owners often put up barriers to walkers.

“The real estate market has cooled, so they're relatively affordable, for now,” Janusas wrote. “PLANKelowna and one of the owners have suggested that the city buy these properties, then sever off and keep ownership of a narrow strip along the shore, then resell the remainder of the properties. This strip of land would have a boardwalk installed to link the existing lakefront parks and beaches together.”

That is a strategy that has been employed by the city before.

“It is a policy,” Johannes Saufferer, the city’s director of strategic investments told iNFOnews.ca. “I wouldn’t say it’s our policy or the policy. It’s one of the options we have available.”

He cannot talk about specific properties the city might want to buy but said he is aware these are for sale.

One of the owners has posted on the PLANKelowna Facebook page that he could either sell the entire property to the city or a strip along the foreshore but has not received a positive response. He did not respond to requests for an interview to confirm he is the owner.

“The bad news is that, so far, the city has refused to take advantage of this very rare opportunity,” Janusas wrote. “City council has said it wants to open up our shore – time for them to put words into action!”

The PLANKelowna Facebook page contains four maps of areas of the lake south of the Bennett bridge that are relatively accessible to shoreline walkers.

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