SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME 67 - ISSUE
NO. 37 • S U M M E R L A N D, B.C. • T H U R S D AY,
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
SEPTEMBER
11,
2014
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16
WHAT’S INSIDE:
Page 3
Cultural events
The Summerland Library will hold an open house week later this month.
Page 8
Fall Fair
Volunteers are preparing for the 105th annual Summerland Fall Fair, which will take place this weekend.
Page 11
Hockey team
YOUR SMILE Summer must be over. My neighbour just returned my lawn furniture.
$1.15
INCLUDING
GST
Housing concept opposed by John Arendt
After six years in the mayor’s chair, Janice Perrino will not seek reelection in the upcoming municipal election.
Page 15
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Trout Creek residents speak out against proposed lot sizes in development near beach
Mayoral decision
The Summerland Steam Junior B hockey team will have some new players on the roster when regular season action begins.
PA G E S
On the picket line
Steve Kidd Black Press
Kevin Lodermeier and Dave Stathers walk the picket lines at Summerland Secondary last week. At present, a quick end to the labour action is unlikely.
Quick end unlikely in teachers’ strike by Steve Kidd and Carla McLeod
With the province insisting on a negotiated settlement with B.C. teachers and the teachers holding firm to their demands, the end of the strike maybe sometime away yet. Dave Stathers was walking the picket lines at Summerland Secondary last week. In his 25 years of teaching, he said, this is the first time he has seen job action push into a new year.
He’s not optimistic for an early settlement to the strike. “I think it will be October before we are back,” he said. Though BCTF president Jim Iker held out the possibility of going to arbitration to settle the ongoing teachers’ strike over the weekend, that option has been all but ruled out by the government. Iker urged the province to agree to arbitration and leave class size and composition to be settled by the courts, promising the union
would then hold a membership vote on suspending the strike and returning to work, but Education Minister Peter Fassbender said the government team needs to see the detailed proposal in writing. “I’ve never been a fan of binding arbitration,” he said, adding handing over control to a third party risks an outcome that compromises B.C.’s balanced budget and unacceptably damages the province’s finances.
See PROGRAMS Page 2
A development on a 3.2-hectare parcel in Trout Creek near Powell Beach will add 31 single family homes to the neighbourhood, but residents are concerned some of the lots will be too small for the area. On Monday, municipal council approved the Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw amendments for the proposed development on Dale Avenue. The property is zoned agricultural, but it is not in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Brad Elenko, representing the developers, said two open houses were held over the past year and a half. As a result of public input, the developers will not have multifamily housing in the development. Instead, all properties are in the RSD1, RSD2 and RSD3 single family designations. Even with the changes, some of the lots are still too small for many who spoke at the public hearing on Monday evening. The smallest properties, in the RSD1 zoning, would be smaller than 500 square metres, while the largest, in the RSD3 designation, would be more than 1,000 square metres. Of the 31 lots in the proposal, 14 will be RSD1. “I don’t see that as being appropriate at all for the Trout Creek area,” said Art More. “I think it’s going to devalue a lot of the lots in the area.” Vic Jensen, another Trout Creek resident, said the higher density would change the character of the neighbourhood. It will also affect the ambiance in Powell Beach Park. Marcia Dean said there are no RSD1 lots in Trout Creek at present. She added that the small lots will result in cottage developments, rather than homes with permanent residents. Marilyn Hansen said Trout Creek residents do not want RSD1 lots. Instead, they want larger lots and green spaces in the area. Sharon Mansiere said the RSD1 designation is best suited for areas closer to urban services, not in an outlying area. “We shouldn’t be doing RSD1 in a satellite area,” she said. Those who supported the proposal and the smaller lots said it would help to bring families to the area. Peter McIntosh of Penticton, who wants to move to Trout Creek, said the subdivision would give potential homeowners a price point to move in to the area. See HOUSING Page 12