Summerland Council on the hot-seat - Susan McIver

Summerland council on the hot-seat SUSAN McIver, Special to The Penticton Herald October 26, 2009

Summerland council will meet this evening in the spacious confines of Centre Stage Theatre because of the high-level of public interest in proposed changes to the official community plan.

The question before council is whether to adopt the proposed changes or to seek additional public consultation.

The most controversial issue yet faced by this council, the changes would allow lands on the eastern side of Garnet Valley, known as Rattlesnake Mountain, to be designated as an urban growth area.

An overflow crowd and inadequate sound system at the last council meeting necessitated holding the required public hearing at Centre Stage Theatre.

A full house of close to 300 attended the rescheduled hearing on October 15.

At that time council listened while members of the public spoke.

“This is the public‘s opportunity to tell us what they think. We are here to listen,” Mayor Janice Perrino said at the hearing.

This evening council will respond to the issues raised and consider the recommendations from municipal staff on how to proceed with the proposed bylaw.

“I‘ll be giving a power point presentation,” Perrino said in a telephone interview Saturday.

The two-part bylaw would alter the requirements to amend the urban growth area in the OCP and would change the designation of roughly 69 hectares on Rattlesnake Mountain from future growth area to urban growth area.

Key to council‘s deliberations this evening is whether or not it considers appropriate public consultation has occurred and whether further consultation with other organizations and authorities is required.

“Slow down, seek input and make the process as transparent and open as possible\", Khati Hendry advised council at the public hearing.

Underlying the proposed bylaw is whether a council has the legal authority to change the OCP before the mandated time for changes to be considered.

The OCP was adopted in April 2008 by the previous council, only 16 months before the current council initiated steps to change it.

“The lawyers gave you the opinion you wanted but there is a cautionary note at the end of their letter. I see this closing paragraph as urging council to a higher standard than simply moving forward with what may be legally possible,” John Kingsmill, an experienced corporate lawyer, said at the public hearing.

Subsequently, other community members said that it was the council‘s moral responsibility to uphold the OCP even though they may have the legal right to change it.

“I do not share his (Kingsmill‘s) opinion,” Perrino said Saturday.

Perrino also questions Kingsmill‘s motives for raising this and other serious concerns at the hearing.

“It is deeply discouraging when the purpose is to ’get them‘ (meaning the council) rather than looking at the issues,” she said.

Kingsmill could not be reached for comment.

On a more positive note Perrino said, “There were so many helpful intelligent comments made at the hearing.”

The opinion of the municipal lawyers was first circulated to council members in September as a summary provided by staff.

“I kicked up a fuss because I wanted a copy of the original letter rather than staff‘s interpretation,” said Coun. Gordon Clark.

Subsequently, copies were distributed to all members of council.

The issues of urban growth, capacity of municipal services, sustainability and environmental impact were also raised at the hearing.

These issues have been addressed by letters to the editor in local newspapers and by municipal staff in a memorandum to council.

The latter is available on the municipal website.

In his recent letter, Summerland resident Brian Adams wrote,” Unfortunately, the handling of this matter, leads people to speculation. One perception is that payback is involved.”

Adams readily admits his comments are speculation only.

However, the question of electoral irregularities in civic elections in the province, including Summerland, was raised in an article in the Vancouver Sun last March.

“There was a quarter-page ad endorsing the Perrino slate that included the names of 90 supporters, including a number of realtors and developers. Some of those supporters‘ names were also among a longer list of names on a pamphlet endorsing the Perrino slate. The entire slate was elected,” Daphne Bramham wrote in the article.

Bramham questions the ads in support of Perrino and the successful slate which gave no indication of who the concerned residents or business owners were or who paid for the ad.

She also questions the amount of money spent on ads in local newspapers in support of Perrino by a group calling itself Citizens for Smart Governance.

Any person or group spending $500 or more is legally required to register with the chief electoral officer as either a campaign organizer or an elector organization and file financial statements within four months of the election.

Neither such an organizer nor organization was registered in Summerland although the cost of the ads totalled above the $500 threshold.

Tonight\’s meeting begins at 7 p.m.

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