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Reconsidering McCurdy is 㽶Ƶֱnot straight forward,㽶Ƶֱ city clerk says

Supportive housing project in Rutland could be brought back to council, but will it?
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Audra Boudreau had her work cut out for her on Thursday, as she tallied up petition signatures of Kelowna residents opposed to a supportive housing project slated for McCurdy Road.

She said she believes they will meet their 13,000-signature goal.

The petition organizer, alongside volunteers, have gone door-to-door collecting signatures and even hosted a drive-thru signing at Rutland Secondary School.

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But will that be enough to convince council to bring the controversial project back to the table?

What city councillors can do and what the implications of their actions are, are two different questions, Kelowna city clerk Stephen Fleming said.

Fleming said a 30-day reconsideration mechanism is outlined in both the community charter and in the council procedure bylaw, meaning the mayor can bring back an item that had previously been approved, including the McCurdy housing project.

In the case of the McCurdy supportive housing project, the rezoning of the land received a third reading in and the this year, before councillors voted 㽶Ƶֱyes㽶Ƶֱ on the form and character of the project and issued a development permit.

The says a matter brought forward for reconsideration must be done at the time of, or within one month of a council decision. And under the conditions of the , if the original decision was the adoption of a bylaw㽶Ƶֱsuch as a land rezoning㽶Ƶֱand that decision is rejected on reconsideration, the bylaw is deemed to be repealed.

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READ MORE: Public forum fails to ease Rutland㽶Ƶֱs frustrations over McCurdy house

㽶ƵֱBut in this hypothetical case for McCurdy, it㽶Ƶֱs not as straight forward,㽶Ƶֱ Fleming said. 㽶ƵֱCould you reconsider this? Yes. But what are the implications of that.㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱIt㽶Ƶֱs not just vote again and get a different answer,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

Implications considered by councillors, Fleming said, could include financial impacts on the applicant or builder and if the project has already been started.

㽶ƵֱTo un-adopt a bylaw, we㽶Ƶֱd have to introduce something that says, 㽶Ƶֱhey, this is the wrong zone, it should be something else㽶Ƶֱ and change the future land use map to what it was originally, or some other zone,㽶Ƶֱ Fleming said. 㽶ƵֱBecause it is an adopted bylaw, you can㽶Ƶֱt just un-adopt it like a resolution.㽶Ƶֱ

Council may also consider what is best for the community as a whole.

Fleming said one side affected by the project 㽶Ƶֱwould be pleased,㽶Ƶֱ referring to the community of Rutland, but what would that look like for those who are supporters of the project? 㽶ƵֱWhat message does that send?㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱStuff an elected official must consider; can you do something? Should you do something? The answer is not always the same,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

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Caitlin.clow@kelownacapnews.com

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