Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

NEW DEVELOPMENT

Disagreement on Dallas Drive frustrates residents, splits Kamloops city council

Dec 16, 2020 | 5:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — On Tuesday night (Dec. 16), Kamloops city council voted to discharge a covenant on a property along Dallas Drive. The covenant, which was put in place over two decades ago, prohibited certain types of businesses from being established on the property in question.

After Tuesday’s council vote, that prohibition has effectively been lifted, leaving residents who oppose the planned development wondering if the city council listened to their concerns at all.

It doesn’t look like much now, but a property on the corner of Dallas Drive and Kokanee Way may just be the most controversial piece of land in the city — especially after city council’s public hearing on Tuesday night.

“The issue was [about] discharging a covenant that had been there for over 20 years that prevented a gas bar, gas station, restaurant, welding shop,” Councillor Denis Walsh explains.

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The developer hopes to build a Co-op gas bar, convenience store car wash, and drive-thru restaurant on the property. Walsh was one of the councillors who opposed the application. He feels council has an obligation to uphold the will of the neighbourhood, especially when it seems the majority of the residents wanted the covenant to remain in place.

“It’s just a lot more serious — the discharge of a covenant that’s been in place for 20 years,” Walsh says. “To me, it requires the consent of the neighbourhood — at least more than 50 per cent. In this case, it certainly was in the 60-to-70 per cent (range) against.”

An earlier application made by the developer went before council in June and was defeated by a 6-3 vote. The main difference was that the earlier application included a card lock, which would have significantly increased transport truck traffic. On Tuesday, the modified application passed by a 7-2 vote.

“In the end, the council thought it was a good use for that piece of land,” Arjun Singh explains. “Not just for the folks adjacent to that development, but for the folks in quite a wide radius around.”

City council received quite a bit of correspondence from nearby residents who oppose the application. At the core of that opposition is the belief that the City hasn’t seriously considered the residents’ concerns.

“We don’t want the covenant altered,” Shelley Tallent, Strata Council President for nearby Kootenay Court. “It feels like the City threw us under the bus.”

Jason Lussier went door-to-door and collected 54 signatures on a petition opposing the application. He’s worried the development would make the already busy neighbourhood that much busier.

“The increase of traffic,” Lussier says. “I talked to a few people going around with the petition, some were worried about the light pollution, the noise, the fumes from the gas stations. The added traffic touched on everyone’s nerve.”

While there is significant opposition to the development, some residents welcome the new addition to the area.

“When they tried to do a card lock truck stop, that was not appropriate for this site,” resident Peter Miedema says. “What they’re putting in here, a local Co-op — we can all join this Co-op and get discounts and benefits… I think it’s a great idea.”