Regarding the public hearing on Monday, May 17, many residents of the Kampe estate will have a singular voice.

Jim Moring delivered 132 letters from Penticton residents, most around the property but others beyond the immediate vicinity,

The proposed development on the property would see the current mansion and shed replaced with two six-story apartment buildings with 151 residential units, 191 vehicle parking spaces and additional bicycle parking.

Penticton City Council gave the first reading of the required changes to the official community plan and zoning by-laws to allow such construction on May 4, and proceeded to the next stage of a public hearing.

“I went to see the neighbors after the city council meeting gave the first reading, especially the people who had expressed concerns about all of this and they were oblivious to that fact,” Moring said. “They didn’t have this information and they needed a common voice to unite their feelings about it.”

Moring collected emails from people who were unwilling to speak up, but shared the concerns of fellow residents in the neighborhood about the proposed development.

These concerns include the potential impact on traffic, the protection of the Oxbow and the environment, the financial implications on neighboring residences and the radical departure from the official community plan and zoning of the area.

“We’ve all embraced the concept of one-family and single-family zoning,” Moring said.

He also highlighted concerns about the development impact on School District 67 and indoor health.

It’s the scale of development that’s the biggest issue with the proposal, at least for Moring. He said if the developers had proposed a project that featured townhouses instead, they would have had fewer objections.

“I think most people could tolerate a modest increase in density, but expect people to live with such a huge and dramatic increase when they trusted the OCP was there to protect them for. protect them… Two women, a woman and her daughter, bought right next to Kampe’s property. These people have bought since the arrival of OCP and bought with confidence that they were buying a single family neighborhood.

“I want to hear from the neighborhood, we all do it, not just myself, but the whole city council wants to hear what the neighborhood thinks about this development and the reasons why it feels the way it does,” Vassilaki said. after receiving the letters. . “If it’s not NIMBYism, then the city council is very attentive to what the neighborhood has to say.”

The city received 337 responses during the public engagement period of March 17-19 regarding the proposed change to the PCO, with more than two-thirds either opposed or strongly opposed to the development.

By the time the council meets on Tuesday, May 18, the plan is to have at least double the current number of letters and emails from residents submitted to

Moring hopes more people will contact him or show up at Monday’s public hearing to make their voices heard.

The public hearing will take place on Zoom starting at 6:30 p.m. and will be webcast live on the city’s website. The link to participate, by Zoom or by phone, is available at penticton.ca/city-hall/city-council/council-meetings.

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