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March 20, 2013
Public beach clean-up upsets local residents
Inside
KEVIN PARNELL
George Elliot Secondary physics whizzes pick up a silver medal at a physics olympics competition. ...............................
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Wanting to show art students the best in printmaking techniques in action, UBCO assistant professor Briar Craig and the Lake Country Art Gallery have teamed up to host a juried show of local and international printmaking art. ...............................
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Columnist Tom Fletcher says both the Liberals and NDP parties in B.C. have used the same tactics to sway voters their way. ...............................
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Flyers ■ Home Depot ■ JYSK ■ Rona ■ Staples
Residents living in Okanagan Centre watched this week as the District of Lake Country moved in and removed several illegal sheds, old boathouses and a variety of boats, chairs and other structures from a stretch of public land known as the greenspace. The long-standing issue, which is related to the removal of several illegal docks in past years, has some residents up in arms about a lack of public consultation while others are happy to have private structures removed from a public beach. It’s been a controversial issue that has pitted residents in the small Lake Country ward of Okanagan Centre on different sides of what has become a hot button topic. “I can’t believe how cleaning up the beach has become so fraught with anger,” said Coun. Lisa Cameron, who represents Okanagan Centre. “We are trying to treat the Okanagan Centre beach like any other park in Lake Country. “In any other park staff removes private property without even consulting council.” But some residents who live in Okanagan Centre are not happy the district has gone ahead with its plan. Resident Blair Ireland says there are many opposed to the clean-up and they simply wanted a public meeting to discuss the issue. “We want consultation, we want a public meeting, we were al-
ways promised we would get our say in what is removed or not,” said Ireland. “We know the beach needed to be cleaned up and we know there are derelict structures. “But we wanted a proper meeting to have some say in how our community goes forward.” Ireland says many in the small community are upset with the clean-up and the way it has been pushed through. But Cameron says the community has been consulted in the past and the issue has been ignored by Lake Country council for several years. “There has been so much consultation on this issue,” she said. “They have been before council and residents have been surveyed. We have had two previous councils that ignored this issue and unfortunately these residents believe that somehow it is OK for
CONTRIBUTED
AFTER THE CLEAN UP the greenspace along Okanagan Lake in Okanagan Centre is restored almost entirely to its natural state.
them to break our bylaws. “Just because we don’t agree with them doesn’t mean we aren’t listening.” Cameron says the issue of the clean-up of the Okanagan Cen-
THE CLEAN UP of Okanacan Centre’s
tre greenspace was a key platform in her running for council as she maintains she has lots of support in Okanagan Centre. “I wouldn’t have undertaken this if I didn’t think the majority of Okanagan centre residents wanted this,”
she said. Resident Larry Fallis, who lives two blocks away from the beach, said he supports the clean-up. “In using the beach we found there was more and more stuff showing up,” said Fallis. “They are basically
calling garbage a heritage site. “There are old sheds with broken glass in them and people put their chairs inside. “I think the clean-up is great. (People) are establishing rights that
SEE GREENSPACE A2
CONTRIBUTED
greenspace along Okanagan Lake came about because local residents had been using the public access beaches to build sheds, store personal beach paraphernalia and otherwise use it like private property.
CONTRIBUTED
DISTRICT OF Lake Country staff remove an old structure from the public beach in Okanagan Centre last week.
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