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㽶ƵֱTake the foot off the accelerator㽶Ƶֱ: Pandosy residents ask Kelowna to slow development

Growth in Pandosy-Lakeshore threatens gentrification, 㽶Ƶֱhorrendous㽶Ƶֱ traffic, loss of community, says KLO Neighbourhood Association
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Brent Warne speaking to Pandosy-Lakeshore area residents in a parking lot near Boyce-Gyro Beach in Kelowna on Monday, Nov. 16. (Michael Rodriguez - Capital News)

Residents in Kelowna㽶Ƶֱs Pandosy-Lakeshore area are begging the city to 㽶Ƶֱtake the foot off the accelerator.㽶Ƶֱ

Speaking in a parking lot near Boyce-Gyro Beach on Monday, Brent Warne of the KLO Neighbourhood Association (KLONA) motioned towards nearby vacant lots, trailer parks and affordable housing, cautioning of the towering structures that would soon sit in their place.

Warne spoke as a long-time resident of the area, telling the 50-odd crowd mostly filled with his neighbours, that 㽶Ƶֱhyper-development㽶Ƶֱ is putting enormous stress on the community in a number of ways.

Citing projects like the one set for Hiawatha RV Park, where residents have been served eviction notices to leave by April to make way for a large development, Warne claimed the once-affordable neighbourhood is becoming anything but. Describing the situation, he used the word 㽶Ƶֱgentrification.㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱThis area has always been a big mix of social development,㽶Ƶֱ Warne said, mentioning the multi-million dollar lakefront homes within walking distance of affordable units at trailer parks like Hiawatha.

㽶ƵֱIt㽶Ƶֱs a real community.㽶Ƶֱ

READ MORE: Eviction notice leaves Kelowna trailer park resident fearing homelessness

READ MORE: 㽶ƵֱI don㽶Ƶֱt know what to do㽶Ƶֱ; Another Hiawatha resident pleas for eviction extension

KLONA claims the city has more than tripled the 1,600 residential units that are called for in the area in the 2010㽶Ƶֱ2030 OCP. With thousands more people pouring into the neighbourhood, Warne claimed already lengthy commute times could become 㽶Ƶֱhorrendous.㽶Ƶֱ

And, the costs for those developments could come back to the taxpayers, he claimed. The city has a more than $400-million deficit in funds to cover the cost of growth development. Those funds, Warne asserted, will have to be made up from reserves, borrowing and general taxation increases.

On its website, , KLONA has listed further information regarding developments in the area and is encouraging residents of the area to take an online survey as well as to send their concerns directly to city councillors and the mayor.

While development as a whole is not something opposed by KLONA, Warne said it㽶Ƶֱs time to slow it down.

㽶ƵֱLet㽶Ƶֱs just coast for a bit.㽶Ƶֱ

The Capital News has reached out to the City of Kelowna for comment.

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com



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