‘It’s just a beautiful place’: Sahali residents opposed to ALR removal plan head to Tuesday hearing

“The only thing agriculturally that has happened on these lands owned by the holding company has been the equestrian centre and none of that has happened close to the acreages that they want to pull out.”

The property is adjacent to McGowan Park Elementary School, Albert McGowan Park and Gambles Pond, which has largely been dry since 2023. Still, more than 3,000 people have signed a petition opposing the application to remove the land from the ALR as they say it provides a “space for reflection, recreation and connection with nature.”

“Even with the pond gone, it is still a wildlife area and it is a wildlife area that if they’re not already here, they pass through here,” Wade said. “With development here, we would really have to consider what that impact to the wildlife is going to be.”

“It’s just a beautiful place.”

The Kamloops Naturalist Club agrees and it notes ALR lands also helps mitigate urban sprawl in the city.

“It sort of separates urban development from nature and wildlife, so it is very important to maintain that and protect that and not see it be chipped away at piece by piece or else we’ll lose all our grasslands,” program manager Jesse Ritcey said.

While the city is under pressure to create thousands of new housing units to keep up with a growing population, opponents say it is important to ensure development is done properly.

“Do we need housing? Yes. We’re under pressure from the province like every other city,” Wade said. “There is a crisis, I totally agree with that, but I’m not sure right now is the time. It hasn’t been there in the 27 years that I’ve lived here and I don’t think it’s there now.”

“The City of Kamloops has designated the area as an environmentally sensitive area. It might be temporarily dry but development is forever,” Ritcey added. “When… this drought period ends or in wet years, that’s really important wetland habitat. There’s still a lot of value to the land.”

The City of Kamloops did not respond to requests from CFJC Today Tuesday, but staff support the removal of the property from the ALR. In a report, they note if the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) is also supportive of the application, the owners will still need to clear a number of steps before any development can take place.

“If the Agricultural Land Commission supports the exclusion application, the owner of the subject property will be required to submit future planning applications, including Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments to facilitate the development of an urban residential neighbourhood,” the report said.

“Through this process, detailed studies will be required to determine wildlife corridors, riparian buffers next to the Gambles Pond area, and future park dedication to the city to expand the adjacent environmentally sensitive areas. Further, a full technical review on servicing infrastructure and traffic impacts will be required to be submitted by the owner should they proceed with submitting the aforementioned development applications.”

The public hearing is scheduled to get underway at 7:00 p.m. at Sandman Centre and city officials are expecting a large turnout. For now, it’s up to city councillors to decide whether or not to allow this application to proceed further as only local governments can apply to the Agricultural Land Commission.

“I don’t necessarily disagree with city council taking it to a public hearing [but] if this gets voted through, I’m not thinking there are people on council who are actually looking at what is good for this city as a whole,” Wade said.

Added Ritcey, “they’ve been rejected several times, so at some point it would be nice if it would be very firmly shut the door on this and said, ‘No, this is ALR land. It’s being saved for the use that it’s intended for and that’s that.'”

by Victor Kaisar

‘It’s just a beautiful place’: Sahali residents opposed to ALR removal plan head to Tuesday hearing

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