Local orchardists are getting council's initial approval to expand operations north of Kelowna's airport district.
Coral Beach Farms is expanding its operations, and has plans for a new production facility on a 29 acre property on Shanks Road off of Highway 97.
Planning Manager Ryan Smith says it's a significant business.
"They have 670 acres planted, with an additional 420 acres planned to be planted by 2020. They employ 800-900 staff in the peak season, and are anticipating up to 1000 workers this year," he said.
The issue in question on Monday was plans to build temporary housing for 140 seasonal farm workers, in trailers on the site.
Smith explained why staff eliminated one part of the proposal.
"The form of housing is a non-permanent form of housing. There was some discussion in the applicant's letter of rationale for the application, that talked about the potential for university students to occupy the housing part-time in the offseason," he said.
"While that was the applicant's initial intent, it certainly does not meet our local bylaws or policy direction, so that would not be permitted."
Mayor Colin Basran says after all the discussion about the issue in 2017, he was surprised to hear that pitch.
"Given how contentious utilizing housing on farms has been, because there's been so many abuses of it, I was just actually rather surprised that it was part of the applicant's initial application," he said.
"That was why we went down this whole arduous road, to try and come up with guidelines. And then to hear that an application of this kind now wanted to utilize it for purposes outside of the housing for farmworkers, I thought was a bit shocking."
The plans will now move forward to a future public hearing.