ENTERTAINMENT
SPORTS
BUSINESS
RUTLAND Senior Secondary will take on an original theatre stage production of Emma Burden, an adult-oriented fairytale about a young woman who discovers her future is cursed on the eve of her wedding.
KELOWNA ROCKETS say good-bye to Swedish forward Henrik Nyberg, 19, who has decided to return to his native hometown after coming to the conclusion his hockey future won’t be in North America.
COLUMNIST Jan Johnson says there are some retail shopping gems to be experienced this Christmas season at Town Centre Mall in downtown Kelowna.
A18
A20
The Canadian School of Ballet & Ballet Kelowna present…
THE QUINTESSENTIAL HOLIDAY CLASSIC:
THE
NUTCRACKER
A29
TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
DEC. 6TH -7TH
THURSDAY Nov. 28, 2013 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ WEST KELOWNA
▼ CONFERENCE
Zoning bylaw public hearing draws a crowd
Sustainable future needs growth curtailed
Wade Paterson
Judie Steeves
STAFF REPORTER
It was standing-room only as approximately 60 residents crowded into the lobby of West Kelowna council chambers Tuesday evening. The majority of those in attendance had concerns regarding the district’s draft zoning bylaw and proposed amendments to the Official Community Plan. The changes, which Coun. Rick de Jong earlier described as “a radical overhaul” to the existing zoning bylaw, will be the first since the zoning bylaw—inherited from the Regional District of the Central Okanagan—was last substantially reviewed in 2000. Many of the residents in attendance Tuesday night were concerned about the proposed P1 zoning for properties along Westside Cays Canal, which runs adjacent to Pritchard Drive. The district received 19 submissions regarding the zoning of the canal. The majority of those letters indicated P1 zoning does not adequately
accommodate the purpose and usage of the waterway. “A site specific zoning for this private waterway should be applied to more accurately accommodate its true purpose and usage,” wrote Jeffrey Shardelow, president of the Westside Cays Waterway Association. According to Nancy Henderson, general manager of development services, the draft zoning bylaw isn’t proposing any changes—the canal has been zoned P1 since at least 1981. Henderson recommended several options to council to ease the concerns of those living along the canal. During its regular meeting after the public hearing, council voted to include consideration of an amendment to the zoning of the canal to specifically permit the construction of docks for adjacent properties as part of the scope of the scheduled 2014 Waterfront Zoning Review. “I’m very optimistic with what you have (de-
STAFF REPORTER
ALISTAIR WATERS/CAPITAL NEWS
GATEWAY ART…Janine Lott and Jordon Coble, the two Westbank
First Nation artists who created the eight colourful banners that adorn the gateway poles on Kelowna’s new-look Bernard Avenue at Richter Street. See story A5.
We are living by depleting our natural capital such as soils, water and fish stocks, by 50 to 58 per cent and we take the growth that causes that for granted, warns Bill Rees, a population ecologist and UBC professor emeritus. He was speaking to delegates at the Building Sustainable Communities conference continuing until Thursday in Kelowna at the Delta Grand, on some of the most important things he’s learned during his career. “We live in a world of overshoot,” he explained. It may be less obvious here where we live, but in some other parts of the world it’s quite clear, and yet we continue to take growth for granted, and consider kick-starting the economy a good thing. There’s been explosive growth in the past 150 to 200 years, compared to that of thousands of years prior, yet we take that as normal, when it’s actually the most abnormal of all time, he said. Instead we should aim to decrease growth; create an economic recession to decrease carbon emissions and avoid global warming. “Parts of the world are becoming uninhabitable already and hundreds of millions of people will be displaced when they can no longer live in their parts of the world,” he warned. Developing countries are the worst affected. “The rich are getting the gains while the costs go to the poor,” he said. Our species has some amazing qualities, but he says he questions whether there is evidence of intelligent life on Earth when he looks at some of our actions—or lack of them. “We’re short-term opportunists, and our government is in denial about climate change. How can we be so at odds with our potential?” he questioned. Despite being a scientist, Rees says the most important things he has learned have nothing to do with science.
See Crowd A12
See Future A5
0
%
www.bannisterkelowna.com
250-860-7700
FINANCING ON ALL
2014
0
%
$
84
ENDING SOON
for months on 2014 Buick Verano GMC Terrain & Sierra HD
2 Years FREE Lube Oil & Filter 2014 Models