Tony Cooke's Letter

Tony Cooke forwarded us a letter he sent to the press in December, outlining his main concerns with the second draft of Summerland's OCP. Like Amie's and Douglas's letters, he's focused on the aggressive growth rates proposed in the new draft:

"Dear Editor,

At last there will be a public open house to discuss the Official Community Plan (the OCP) produced by the consultants, UMA. Council disbanded the Stakeholders group, so we cannot meet with the public at that time to explain our position. The OCP is a plan for the next 20 years, covering many issues. Perhaps the most important are the rate of growth, where growth occurs, and what consequently happens to agricultural land.

The Stakeholders in their many meetings supported the majority views expressed in the results of the OCP questionnaire (hundreds of households responded). Strong support was given to preserving agricultural land, to promoting agri-tourism, to preserving the small town feel and rural nature of Summerland, and to promoting commercial development in the Downtown instead of on the Highway.

The Stakeholders proposed a maximum growth rate of 2% per annum, i.e. a population ceiling of 17,000 by 2026. We also asked that agricultural land be preserved as far as possible. Draft 1 of the OCP showed almost 5,000 new homes and the loss of 146 acres of agricultural land. These numbers alarmed us. We therefore moved that “UMA re-examine the number of housing units to better reflect the 2 percent growth rate which the Stakeholders Group proposed”.

Draft 2, prepared at Council’s direction, goes in exactly the opposite direction. No less than 440 acres of land presently in the Agricultural Land Reserve are designated for development. Provision is made for at least 7,300 new homes, as follows: Downtown Core (640); Lower Town (67); Trout Creek (200); Agricultural land immediately north of the Downtown to Blair and Thompson (1,000); Victoria Road South (200), North Prairie Valley (2,932), Rattlesnake Mountain (530); The Jersey Lands (700); Cartwright Mountain (215); and the proposed annexed land for a new golf course (700 – 1,000).

Over the last 20 years Summerland’s population grew from 7,600 to 11,000. Another 7,300 homes would take our population to 28,000! How does planning for growth to the size of today’s Penticton meet the goal of preserving our small town feel and rural nature?

I urge every Summerlander to attend the Public Open House on 22nd February. If we make provision in the OCP for 7,300 new homes then that is what we will get. The economic, social and environmental costs of such rapid growth would be huge.

Only a massive turn-out will convince Council to reconsider the plan.

Growth can be controlled. To quote the OCP draft itself, 'The management of growth can take many forms and may include such measures as limiting the amount of land available for development, prescribing the type of development that can occur, and the conditions under which development would be permitted'.

Tony Cooke"