“When you’re doing a big development, usually you go to the people who are surrounding it and say, ‘do you have any concerns?’” said one Lake Country resident at the Tuesday, July 16, council meeting.
Elaine Gibbons lives on Okanagan Centre Road West, close in proximity to the public docks that were damaged in the spring of 2017.
Gibbons believes that if the docks are reconstructed in the same location it could cause a infrastructure hazard, encourage bylaw infractions, dirty the beach area and create a parking cluster.
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“[I] agree that there is a need for public docks down there,” she said. “Will these new docks be regularly inspected as to safety and maintained as requested by the province or will they be left to disintegrate like they have been?”
Greg Buchholz, director of infrastructure services for Lake Country, could not be reached for contact.
Disaster relief funding from the province was confirmed last week, and construction on the Waterside Park public docks will take place July 8 to 26, according to a Lake Country press release.
The docks to be rebuilt are located just north of the swim bay at Pebble Beach and south of the Okanagan Safe Harbour Regional Park. The district is currently awaiting environmental approvals from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development for the replacement of the Waterside Park public dock.
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The District of Lake Country was told by the ministry it must remove, or bring into compliance, the dock located north of Camp Road.
“Public docks are key pieces of park infrastructure that provide valuable waterfront recreational opportunities including swimming, fishing, photography, as well as motorized and non-motorized boat docking,” says a news release from the District of Lake Country.
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David.venn@kelownacapnews.com
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