Delegation – Trail of the Okanagans Society – Council received an update on recent work and progress on the vision to create a biking and hiking trail from Sicamous to Osoyoos, including a portion through the District of Summerland. The society thanked Council for their recent efforts to enhance bicycle and pedestrian connections, and made three requests: 1) amend the District Cycling Masterplan to include the Trail of the Okanagans route, 2) consider a pop-up bikeway through downtown for Cycling Week 2024, and 3) build to BC Active Transportation Design Standards..
Delegation – First Things First Okanagan – The group thanked Council for their leadership on the Solar and Battery Storage Facility and the vision of a sustainable eco-village development as well as the District’s distributed generation program. It was noted that about one-third of green house gas emissions are from buildings and it was requested that the District adopt a ‘zero carbon’ step code for multi-family and single-family buildings. Council asked staff to investigate the provincial program and report back with advice.
Recreation Centre Referendum – In accordance with previous direction to proceed with preparations for a fall 2023 referendum, Council agreed that, subject to provincial approval, the referendum question should be: “Do you support the Corporation of the District of Summerland borrowing up to $50 million with interest, over a period not exceeding 30 years, in order to finance the construction of a new recreation centre to be located at 8820 Jubilee Road E., by way of Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 2023-016?”
Council Chambers Decorum – At Council’s request, staff brought forward several suggestions for council chamber Rules of Decorum based on research and comparisons with other area communities. Council directed staff to make amendments to the Council Procedures Bylaw to incorporate the rules, which will be posted on the website and in chambers.
BC Transit ‘2023 Transit Future Action Plan’ Recommendations Overview – After reviewing costings of the 2023 Transit Future Action Plan recommendations to introduce a local Route 32 bus service as well as Sunday service for Route 30, Council determined it needed more data on potential ridership and that the existing free fare pilot for Route 30 be concluded before considering an additional route.
Overview of Eco-village Sustainability Frameworks – One of Council’s priorities is to see the development of an ‘eco-village’ on a portion of District-owned lands on Cartwright Mountain. It is the intent to sell a portion of these lands to realize this vision while
protecting most of the area as a community park. Council was presented with several frameworks that could be used to inform development guidelines to ensure the highest levels of environmental sustainability. After discussion, Council decided to use the LEED Neighbourhood Development standard in combination with the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework to guide further planning and development of the eco-village project. Together these tools will ensure the project fulfills the vision of a truly cuttingedge concept.