Open letter to Kelowna Mayor and Council:
It's a known fact that all Chamber of Commerce and big developers (lobbying groups) have considerable influence on the thoughts and deeds of members of council at any city hall.
Their combined influence have a huge impact on what and how an area is developed. Sadly,the local citizenry, individually, do not have the power to control or manipulate city council to do the bidding/wishes of the majority of the people who elected them to work on their behalf.
Writing letters, petitioning, phone calls, attending city council meetings and involving the Ombudsperson does not guarantee success, as witnessed by the loss of our 304 name petition against a nine unit, three bedroom/per unit rental development which occurred on a RU1 single housing lot, in our immediate area.
To be fair to the citizens of Kelowna, in the apparent huge opposition to the proposed Tourist Information Centre development near our invaluable (publicly owned waterfront property), it would be a crime if city council approved this development!
May we recommend that Kelowna Mayor Basran and City Council put this issue out to referendum.
If you are concerned, plan on attending the public meeting/ hearing at the Kelowna City Council Chambers on Tuesday, Jan.24,2017 at 6pm.
Peter Harshenin, Kelowna