City council is being asked to settle a dispute between municipal staff and a local developer.
It all centres around a nearly 1000-housing unit project called Diamond Mountain, which would be built on 220 acres of land south of the Glenmore Landfill.
Developer Troika says it had city support up until roughly a year ago, when a study was released on the nuisance levels of the garbage's smells and sounds.
The two sides are now at an impasse, after a staff claim that the landfill's proximity to the site would possibly lead to issues like bad smells and loud sounds, which could cost the city money in mitigating those complaints.
City Planning Director Doug Gilchrist says even already-developed projects, like nearby Quail Ridge, likely won't be immune.
"The proximity of those other lands is definitely further away from the landfill than most of the lands on Diamond Mountain. But where there's land that is not zoned for development, I think the essence of the report suggests that we shouldn't create a greater potential for any future challenges or incompatible land uses," he said.
But Troika CEO Renee Wasylyk says the current zoning already allows for a more limited development.
"I could tomorrow, put the most exclusive development on that property that would have an ammenity package of helipads, and pools, and tennis courts, and equestrian (facilities), and absolutely make 17 millionaires very, very happy. But I, as a developer, don't want that decision on my head," she said.
She says if the city's goal is to block all development on the site, that's not happening.
"So if city staff say no, but council still votes yes for us, that means that city staff gets to wear that decision," she said.
"If council votes no, well, council decided to put millionaires there. The reality of this application is not whether or not there will be development there - there will be. It's how does the development look? And what do we want as a community and as a society?"
Meanwhile, Gilchrist is maintaining that Troika's proposed Area Structure Plan isn't a good fit.
"To get to this stage of the investigation, and then not get support for those development rights, I'm sure is absolutely frustrating. There's a lot of time, effort, and money that's gone into it to get to this stage," he said.
"But that's also what an area structure plan process is for, is to uncover any potential problems that can be overcome. Or in this case, we don't think can be overcome."
On the nuisance study, Wasylyk says the city has been inconsistent in its responses, to the point that Troika commissioned its own report that disputes the city's findings.
"We've actually had the only other engineering firm in all of North America that can do these nuisance studies, blow bullet holes in not just the science of the report that was done, but in the conclusions that were come to," she said.
"Our engineering firm has used words like 'absurd', 'unscientific', and 'completely biased report.'"
Gilchrist says his department doesn't agree with the parts of that report that it's seen.
"They have presented us with responses to our technical reports. I don't believe we have a direct report of theirs, but I'm sure the developer would be able to present that."
Troika says its original plans would see "the greenest subdivision in Kelowna," and would be affordable for a variety of budgets.
The Area Structure Plan for Diamond Mountain has been in the works since 2011, and will hit council's agenda Monday afternoon.