A brief and informal summary of the latest decisions made by Penticton City Council.
OCP recommendations move to next step The 18 recommendations from the Official Community Plan-Housing Task Force will now be worked into proposed amendments of the OCP and go back out for more public engagement before any changes are approved.
The task force provided a wide-range of ways for Penticton to move closer to meeting its goal of more attainable and accessible housing.
For more on the OCP-Housing Task Force recommendations, click here
Council also approved a request from Councillor Gilbert for staff to look at ways to remove barriers in the OCP for creating larger child cares centres in residential areas.
Lighting up Riverside Park Council has approved the recreational lighting option for Riverside Skate Park.
The recommended design is based on ANSI/IES RP-6-22 Recommended Practice: Lighting Sports and Recreational Areas. This includes Class III illuminance targets for skate parks, and Class IV illuminance targets for outdoor basketball courts. Skate park and basketball court lighting of this level is considered to be appropriate for recreational use.
Under these parameters, the Skate Park would be lit to 200 lux (essentially the brightness) with a uniformity of 3:1 (consistency of the lighting across the park), and similarly lighting the basketball court to 200 lux with a uniformity of 4:1 providing a safe option for users.
Funding comes from the $7-million Building Communities grant received from the province.
Social Development Framework
Council gave unanimous approval to the new Social Development Framework that sets a roadmap for dealing with the social challenges facing Penticton.
For more, click here
Budget closer to final The 2024 budget that will see an overall property tax increase of 5.31 per cent was given first, second and third readings. The final approval, along with other fee and charges, will be voted on at a special Council meeting tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.
For more budget details, visit www.penticton.ca/2024-budget
Credit cards coming for in-person bill payment Starting early in 2024, customers looking to pay bills at City Hall, City Yards, electrical and the Bylaw Department will be able to use credit cards but there will be a surcharge levied.
Council gave first, second and third readings to the change, which will see a surcharge of 2.4% to recapture costs associated with credit card processing.
More details on the changes will be coming in January.
Going for grant for Lakawanna upgrades Council is throwing its support behind an application to receive $1.5 million in federal funds to help renovate and make Lakawanna Park and Spraypark more accessible.
The federal government announced the Enabling Accessibility Fund earlier this fall, provides funding for projects that make communities and workplaces across Canada more accessible for persons with disabilities.
In an effort to ensure inclusivity for people of all abilities, the proposed park upgrade will be designed to go beyond minimum regulations. The park also intends to preserve the mature trees surrounding the area while incorporating additional amenities like benches, wheelchair accessible picnic tables, lighting, bike racks, garbage cans, signage, water fill station, and an upgraded irrigation system, all geared towards enhancing the overall user experience.
These highlights are intended to provide a brief summary of recent Council proceedings. The summary is not inclusive of all agenda items. For a detailed account of the full agenda, including staff reports, other supporting documents and official meeting minutes, please consult the City’s website (www.penticton.ca/council)