To the editor:
Once again we the citizens of Kelowna through our council make huge concessions to a developer and come away with our usual three metre-wide foot path along the water. The Aqua developer gets concessions which add up to a total 24 storeys higher than zoned for three towers, variance concessions on sidewalk clearance, three storey variance on the boat barn and space for another 623 cars along Lakeshore.
The city scoffs at the current zoning and OCP as being outdated and so we get more waterfront towers in support of increased density. Is that what we really want, a waterfront of high rise hotels and condos?
Aqua is yet another development that at least one Kelowna councilor calls world class. What world are they talking about? Are Geneva, Switzerland and Nice, France second-class cities because they leave the waterfront open for public use and the visual beauty from the road?
Is Portland, Oregon a backwater city because they created a beautiful 50 meter wide linear park along the Columbia River?
The city of Burnaby has $1 billion in a reserve fund, earned mostly from payments by developers for zoning concessions. We in Kelowna get a footpath, if council happens to be in a demanding mood.
Don Henderson, Kelowna
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