Mayor Colin Basran authorized executive privilege yesterday, when he asked council members to reconsider a motion that had been previously defeated in a tie vote.
At the public hearing on April 23rd, the public largely opposed the motion, which would facilitate the development of a 6 ½ storey apartment building on Groves Avenue, in South Pandosy.
Residents voiced many concerns regarding the building's size and location. Stating the project did not conform to the vision of the area.
Councillor Gail Given defended the project, alongside Councillors Donn, Wooldridge, Sieben, and Mayor Basran.
She said it aligns with Kelowna’s growth scenario, which calls for medium density.
“This project is 22 units; it isn’t a high density project. It may be larger; it may have the designation of high rise but to define it as high density when we’ve seen a similar project come forward, with 48 units in it, significantly different," said Given
Councillor Ryan Donn, who was absent at the first vote, attended yesterday and voted in support of the project to push it forward.
“Any time we’re going from 3 houses to 22 units, we’re adding a decent amount of density. The question was, is that too much?” said Donn.
Given explained that council has already approved urban densification in Growth Scenario 2.5 and that Kelowna is going to experience significant changes in all of its town centres.