A city councillor is hoping he will now have enough support to keep the Kelowna Springs Golf Course (KSGC) out of the rough.
At the end of council’s Jan. 9 meeting, Luke Stack said he intended to bring forward a motion at the next regular meeting to change the land designation of KSGC under the 2040 Official Community Plan (OCP).
The property at 480 Penno Road is currently listed as potential industrial use within the OCP, and Stack is hoping council will vote to change it to private recreational.
He had tried in summer of 2022 to have the designation changed, however, his motion ended in a tie vote and was automatically defeated.
READ MORE: ‘Save it or pave it’: Councillor chimes in on future of Kelowna Springs golf course
“When I go back and look at who voted which way many of those who opposed it at the time are not serving on this council.”
Former mayor Colin Basran, and former councillors Gail Given and Ryan Donn voted against Stack’s motion, while former councillor Brad Sieben excused himself from the vote noting a conflict of interest. Coun. Loyal Wooldridge also voted against the motion.
Stack and councillors Mohini Singh, Charlie Hodge, and Maxine DeHart voted in favour of the change.
During the 2022 municipal election campaign, Mayor Tom Dyas said if he were elected he would fight to save KSGC from being “turned into warehouses.”
“Residents have told me that they expect their next mayor to fight to save Kelowna Springs and that’s what I will do,” he said in a July 2022 news release.
READ MORE: Kelowna mayoral candidate tees off on golf course controversy
Stack said he does need to confirm with city staff if a six-month waiting period, applied to developments defeated by council unless the mayor brings the matter back, will affect his motion.
“Then I would recommend we wait until it does,” he said.”
Since the motion dates back to August 2022, it’s likely Stack’s new motion would be introduced in February. If council does approve the change the matter will need to go to a public hearing.
“The public really didn’t have an opportunity to weigh in,” he said. “They did by letter, very heavily, but there was never a public hearing.”
It was Kelowna Springs ownership that initially approached city staff regarding a possible land designation change to commercial or industrial, with the expectation they were going to cease operating.
The golf course was identified as a major opportunity for new industrial development by the city in 2020.
READ MORE: Six-storey apartment building planned for Kelowna’s Rutland neighbourhood
@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily newsletter.