Mr. Zeger's [ CRCP ] Letter To Castanet.net Dec 1

[Administrator]

Copied from Castanet.net Letters Section:

"No Changes For Lawson Landing
To the editor:
Regarding the new plans for the Lawson Landing waterfront project, I would sum up my reaction by saying that nothing significant has changed. In fact I am offended by the callous disregard of the developer for the Advisory Planning Commission's and the publics criticisms of the project to which he has responded by giving us back the same basic proposal with some added window dressing.

These criticisms were centered around the number of high-rises in the project, their height and massing, and the proposed sale by the city of Kerry Park. None of these issues has been addressed as all these components of the original plan remain unchanged. The developer is now trying to draw attention away from these matters using additional public space as the new selling point.

But how can he claim to be creating public space when he is merely changing the form of what is already public space i.e., our lake, by dumping tons of infill there? And this will be done with potentially disastrous effects to the lake ecology as it is a sensitive area for the spawning of Kokanee salmon. The public had better take a good hard look at all the costs of this project including increasing the load on our transportation network, the negative impact that high-rises on the waterfront will have on tourism, and the environmental impact of adding tons of infill to the lake before taking the leap and being seduced by the appeal of a pier, expanded boardwalk, and a beach. The price we will be paying will be very high.

John Zeger - Citizens for Responsible Community Planning

Posted: December 01 / 5:30 am
Story# 5573 / Contributed "

[Administrator]

Our Response:

"This letter is in response to John Zeger’s letter posted a couple of days ago regarding Lawson Landing.

Mr. Zeger has again surfaced in the media stating his disagreement with another project being constructed in Kelowna. This time his target is Lawson Landing - again. I would just like to note, from what I have read in the newspaper and have seen in the updated presentation, that the developer Phil Milroy HAS addressed the public’s concerns of the high rises and the proposed sale of Kerry Park. Milroy has stated that there will be no reduction in the tower sizes as it would threaten the viability of the project. The reality is, you can see through it, walk through it, and drive through it. It is even much more open than areas such as The Grand. Along with this is a doubling of public access along the waterfront. Mr. Zeger asks how can Milroy be creating more public space when he is merely changing the form of what is already public space. Milroy is changing public ACCESS – the space has always been there. The last time I was down near the Sails I didn’t see any way of walking out into the “public” water on a pier, or walking along a multi-level “public” boardwalk, or walking in a European style “public” plaza. As for the proposed sale of Kerry Park the City has stated “people who think the City is interested in selling off its waterfront are misinformed”. Kerry Park is not going to be sold. It is going to be given to the city and within Lawson Landing going to be moved and most likely the name will be kept. Kerry Park is not leaving – it’s simply getting bigger and better.

Mr. Zeger is the head of the Citizens for Responsible Community Planning (CRCP) that is an organization “committed to preserving Kelowna through policies of controlled growth”. What is controlled growth according to the CRCP? “Smart Growth of Kelowna should be controlled at 1% annually, not at the present rate of 2.5%”. The CRCP affirms that they wish to “allow Kelowna to grow by an additional 50,000 residents by 2020”. The growth of Kelowna is inevitable. We are a beautiful city! And since we can’t stop the growth, where are new residents going to reside? I heard Mr. Zeger speak at a Council meeting and he is against any construction higher than four stories. So where do the new residents reside? Sprawling in our outlying areas. I speak for a lot of people who have lived in Kelowna for many years (I have lived here for 25) that that is not what we want.

Mr. Zeger mentions that with Lawson Landing there is going to be load on our transportation network, have a negative effect on tourism, and cause an environmental impact. Well the transportation network is being taken care of presently with the creation of a new bridge and the public meetings around the various traffic flow options and I don’t understand how revitalizing the downtown core with increased public space, new retail premises, a 225 room luxury hotel with conference center, and wine and ski tours (among others) originating from the Lawson Landing premises is going to have a negative effect on tourism.

Finally, Mr. Zeger writes about the environmental concerns. Unless Mr. Zeger is an environmental engineer he shouldn’t be commenting how this project would cause disastrous effects to the lake ecology. The City would not allow a development to proceed unless there was a thorough, professional environmental study. Now as for Mr. Zeger’s comment that downtown is a sensitive area for “spawning Kokanee salmon”, Mr. Zeger should note two things. Firstly, Mission Creek, where the Kokanee spawn, exits well south of downtown around the Eldorado Hotel. Secondly, Kokanee is a trout - a salmonid, not a salmon. Mr. Zeger writes out of emotion and not out of fact. I appreciate his enthusiasm vocalizing his opinion in this free country of ours and he will inevitably write against this letter and every other potential high density construction to go up in Kelowna but I am drawing weary of his continual disdain. We voted our City Council in for a reason and they are doing an amazing job in creating the beautiful city that we have.

As of right now the only Kokanee I see in front of the sails come in six and twelve packs. I urge the public to embrace Lawson Landing as it will be a catalyst to the rejuvenation of our downtown. State your “yes” vote in our website, www.MoveKelownaForward.com.

Tony D’Andrea – MoveKelownaForward.com"