West Kelowna residents will have the chance to voice their concerns about a controversial housing development Wednesday night.
The public hearing regarding Blackmun Bay, the most extensive development in the city’s history, will take place at 6 p.m. at the Westbank Lions Community Centre.
Blackmun Bay has taken some flack from residents of the nearby Casa Loma Lakeshore Resort, several of whom have been rallying support from the community since the project’s announcement.
“If you see residents from Casa Loma walking across Bennett Bridge today, feel free to honk your horns and show your support,” read a Facebook post from the Casa Loma Community Association.
“Say no to Blackmun Bay — it’s just too big!”
One of the many concerns presented by the community is an increase in traffic. They said the development would increase traffic congestion on Sneena Road and that crossing the William R. Bennett Bridge could get worse.
“Road and bridge traffic will be compromised, so will water traffic and quality and Blackmun Bay isn’t the only development proposed for Campbell Road. Westbank First Nations has several projects planned,” said Ryan Holt, the president of the Casa Loma Community Association.
Casa Loma is a low-density rural community with a single access road merging onto the Bennett Bridge.
“Compromising that asset will hurt the entire region. If traffic doesn’t flow, neither does business,” added Holt.
The Blackmun Bay project is planned to be made up of four separate complexes with up to nine stories each and will contain 348 condo units, 60 town-homes, a 120 room hotel, 750 plus parking stalls and a 241 boat slip marina.
The Casa Loma Community Association said it’s expecting “close to 500” people to show up at the public hearing tonight.
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