SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
67
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ISSUE
NO.
18
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S U M M E R L A N D,
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
B.C.
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T H U R S D AY,
M AY
1,
2014
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24
WHAT’S INSIDE:
The Quest Society for Hearing Enhancement has initiatives to assist those with hearing loss in Summerland.
Providing food
The Summerland Food Bank has helped individuals and families in need for the past 30 years.
Page 2
Talent show
A talent show next week will provide funding for humanitarian efforts in Africa.
Page 8
Top restaurant
A Summerland restaurant has received provincial recognition for excellence.
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Page 23
YOUR SMILE The only substitute for good manners is fast reflexes.
$1.15
INCLUDING
GST
Land swap passes by John Arendt
Page 9
Summerlanders will observe VE Day on Sunday to commemorate the surrender of Germany at the end of World War II.
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Summerland council approves controversial land exchange, sending plan to province’s Agricultural Land Commission
Hearing aid
Remembering
PA G E S
Planting a tree
John Arendt Summerland Review
Riley Verge, seven years old, and his grandfather Nick Machuik plant a tree near the creek at the Dale Meadows Sports Complex during the Earth Week celebrations on Sunday. Numerous events with environmental themes were held throughout the past week.
Interim site found to house arts centre The Summerland Community Arts Centre will continue to have a downtown presence despite the loss of its present facility. Municipal administrator Tom Day said the arts centre will occupy the former Willowbrook Lane building on Main Street later this year. A potential location for the Summerland Potters’ Guild is also in the works, he said.
For the past 16 years, the arts centre has occupied the former municipal hall on Main Street. Earlier this year, the municipally-owned building and the adjacent garage were acquired for the new Summerland branch of the Okanagan Regional Library. Construction on the new library branch is scheduled to begin later this year. For
years, the existing library branch on Wharton Street has had problems from a severe lack of space. The building, constructed in 1981, is less than half the size required for a community of this size. Since the announcement was made in late February, representatives of the arts council have had concerns about their future, especially during the transition period.
The fate of Summerland’s proposed Urban Growth Strategy now lies with the Agricultural Land Commission after council approved the controversial plan in a 4-1 decision on Monday evening. Coun. Peter Waterman was the sole opponent of the plan. Coun. Lloyd Christopherson and Coun. Bruce Hallquist, who both own land in the affected area, were not present at the meeting. The two councillors have not been present for any of the discussion, the town hall meeting, the public hearings or the votes on the growth plan. Since early December, the plan has led to strong opposition from some in the community, since it includes an agricultural land exchange. If the provincial land commission approves the plan, a total of 80.34 hectares of land near the core of the community will be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve, while 91.7 hectares in the Prairie Valley area would be added to the land reserve. Opponents of the land exchange have stated repeatedly that the swap is not fair since the land slated for exclusion is of a much better quality than the land which would be added to the land reserve. The outcome of the vote, before a packed audience, was the same as other votes on the growth plan. Coun. Martin Van Alphen said while he is passionate about agriculture, the growth strategy is a community planning decision. “This is simply a planning issue. Nothing more; nothing less,” he said. “It’s a planning issue that should have been dealt with years ago.” Coun. Orv Robson said the existing growth strategy in Summerland’s Official Community Plan has not worked for the community. Growth has averaged less than one per cent each year since 1996. “It became apparent that changes had to be made to the OCP,” he said. He added that the new plan is a common-sense solution. “This, in my view, is a win-win for everyone,” he said. See GROWTH Page 3