Kelowna Legacy Group (KLG) has upped the ante in its bid to stop a 25-storey tower proposed for downtown.
“Appelt Properties has significantly altered their plans for 350 Doyle Avenue from 13 stories to 25 stories. With recent allegations put forward by an independently-verified former employee, questions regarding transparency and ethics of this proposal are such that we are requesting that the City of Kelowna either reject the variance application or defer the vote until following the next civic election,” said Les Bellamy, member of KLG, in a statement.
READ MORE: Kelowna tower redesign not a ‘bait-and-switch’: developer
KLG has claimed previously that Appelt Properties never intended to stick with its initial plans after a request for proposals from the city for the Doyle property.
“This project has been troubled since day one with questions of ethics, transparency, and whether this was always a bait-and-switch continuously swirling,” added Bellamy. “With mere weeks left in Kelowna City Council’s mandate, we believe that a rushed push to approve this variance application will only serve to further disenfranchise voters’ trust in the system and their local government.”
Appelt Properties President Greg Appelt has previously countered KLG’s claims.
“We have received tremendous support for the 350 Doyle application, and we are pleased that our neighbours are perceiving the design changes as an improvement on the earlier version of the plan,” he said in a statement released in June.
KLG is encouraging residents to attend the Jun. 26 council meeting, when council will consider rezoning and issuing development permits for the Doyle property.
A public hearing for the 46-storey UBCO tower planned for 550 Doyle is also scheduled for Jun. 26.
READ MORE: Changes to Kelowna’s proposed tallest building going to public hearing
@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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