Future of major new Kelowna park put on hold due to procedural error

After more than two hours of public input and discussion, Kelowna City Council deferred making a decision on a proposal that could give the city a 246-acre park near the McKinley water reservoir.

The public hearing was held yesterday, Aug. 10.

Kinnikinnik Developments is willing to donate the land, which is mostly in the Agricultural Land Reserve, to the city in exchange for the right to put hundreds of houses on nearby land.

The proposal is opposed by a number of “sustainability” organizations who want more study on things like the economic and traffic impact of changing from a resort style development at McKinley Beach to a residential community further away from the lake.

READ MORE: Kelowna needs to rethink a massive new park as a gift from a developer, group says

That’s where the technical glitch came in.

“During the public hearing, staff became concerned there might have been an inadvertent procedural error,” city clerk Stephen Fleming told iNFOnews.ca. “Some of the more recent transportation studies had not been made available to the public.”

Following a break in the proceedings, Fleming recommended that the public hearing be kept open so residents have time to get copies of those studies and review them.

They will be given a chance to respond when the hearing resumes on Aug. 24.

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