Public hearing to be continued

West Kelowna's first attempt at a public hearing in three months will go into overtime.

Council Tuesday agreed to hold open the public hearing on a proposed cannabis production facility on Kyle Road until it attempts to gain comment from residents at the Brookhaven Care Centre located near the proposed site.

The public hearing will resume next week.

The city, as is required by law, notified those residents near the Kyle Road property. They also sent notification letters to Interior Health which runs Brookhaven, and the facility itself, but not the individual residents.

In putting forth the motion to keep the public hearing open, Coun. Doug Findlater said council needs to cover all their bases, while noting there could potentially be an error if those residents were not all notified.

"I wouldn't rely on somebody with a desk at Interior Health in Kelowna to notify those folks, or consider their best interests," he said.

"I don't think Interior Health does a very good job about some things. I think there's problem relying on that input without going to those residents who could be most affected by this."

Most of the pushback against rezoning the Kyle Road property came from residents of the adjacent Crystal Springs manufactured home park.

More than 40 people showed up for Tuesday's public hearing, however only three decided to speak out against the rezoning.

None were shy about their disdain for the project, the process, or council.

Lee Karvonen, who lives above the property at Treasure View Estates, went so far as to question whether city council may be profiting from the application.

"This is a reckless, thoughtless, stupid proposal unless of course there's money in it for someone," he said.

"The developer, or course, The council, I hope not, but I'm finding that hard to believe. But, what I do believe is this council at the next election will not be receiving any votes from us."

He called the process undemocratic, unhealthy, immoral, and probably illegal too.

"It's difficult to tell which smell is worse, the odour of thousands of cannabis plants, or the stench of this manipulated process."

Doug Waines, a resident of Crystal Springs, said government could not be trusted to recognize, and do the right thing, citing several blunders including power poles in the sidewalk on Boucherie Road, delays in the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant, and forgotten underground services, washrooms and not enough parking at the soccer dome.

Karen Michaud, also a resident of Crystal Springs told council she is not against cannabis production, but believes there is a more appropriate place for this type of facility.

"Just because cannabis production is legalized in an industrial zone, doesn't mean it has to be there," she said.

"Build the cannabis production facilities away from residential properties and collect your revenues from the multi-tenant industrial users at 2648 Kyle Road."

All three had concerns about odour from what they believe could be a massive production facility.

The issue before council is to allow for cannabis production with a multi-tenant building. Presently, they are not allowed unless all tenants are producing cannabis.

The property in question is zoned industrial, on which cannabis production is already a permitted use.

Planning manager Brent Magnan says production would only take place within buildings one, two and three. The first two buildings are under construction, while a building permit has been submitted for the third building.

Each building would be approximately 35,000 square feet in size.

Due to concerns pertaining to to COVID-19, the applicant, a resident of Vancouver, did not attend Tuesday's public hearing.

The public hearing will continue next Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.

Council, which has already given first two readings to the amendment, is not expected to debate the application until a future regular meeting.