Archives for March 10, 2020

VICTORIA – Mitzi Dean, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, has issued the following statement welcoming the introduction of a bill in federal parliament to ban conversion therapy:

“On behalf of the Province of British Columbia, I applaud the federal government for responding to our August 2019 call for action to ban conversion therapy.

“We fully support these amendments to the Criminal Code. Introducing criminal penalties for advertising or taking money for conversion therapy makes it clear that attempting to change someone’s gender or sexual identity is harmful and wrong and will not be tolerated in Canada.

“I am especially pleased that this bill includes specific provisions to protect LGBTQ2S+ children. Children and youth are at the highest risk of being forced into conversion therapy – and they often experience lifelong trauma as a result.

“This bill is an important step toward making Canada a better place for LGBTQ2S+ people. It sends the message that people of all sexual orientations and gender identities have a right to live their lives in peace and safety, without interference.

“I acknowledge the work undertaken by B.C.’s attorney general, minister of Health and the MLA for Vancouver-West End to urge the federal government to amend the Criminal Code and make conversion therapy a crime.

“These discredited and discriminatory practices have been allowed to continue in Canada for far too long. Our government hopes this bill passes swiftly into law.”

Pizza parlour approved for outdoor dining

Amore Pizza received approval for an expansion of its Main Street location, which includes an outdoor dining area covered with a pergola.

According to a report from staff, “the objective … is to provide an attractive, comfortable, safe environment for pedestrians while maintaining and enhancing the appearance of the downtown area by establishing a consistently high standard for development. The proposed development meets the intent. …

“Staff consider that the design … will be a welcome addition to a vacant site in a high-profile area.”

Pot business gets still more competitive

The cannabis retail scene in Oliver continues to become more crowded as council lent its support to another Main Street pot store application. 

Interior Cannabis will take the support letter to the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LRCB) to seek a licence for its 6341 Main Street location between Casa Luna and Auntie Ag’s Seafood.

The store will enter a town market that already includes two operating outlets – Bluewater at 6341 Main and Higher Path at 5859 Main.

Another company, Tumbleweedz, is seeking its licence from the LCRB. And there remains the possibility that the province will open a government pot store.

Irrigation start-up set for April 14

Tuesday, April 14 is the start date for the Oliver agricultural irrigation system.

Operations director Shawn Goodsell told council Monday his team hopes to begin diverting water from the canal on April 6, allowing for a system turn-on eight days later.

He said operations staff are watching the weather, hopeful they will be able to complete maintenance and restoration on a 300-metre section of the ditch. 

He said “spray fill” water will be available ahead of the opening day for those who may need it.

Grice OK’d for $2,500 to attend Ottawa conference 

Council approved a $2,500 addition to its travel and expense budget to allow Councillor Aimee Grice to attend the Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention this June in Ottawa.

At a meeting in January, council voted to reduce the travel budget to reflect that only Mayor Martin Johansen would be attending the event.

Subsequently, Grice decided she wanted to attend and asked council to allocate the money for her to go.  

Photo by Roy Wood

30 Years of Service Award – Fire Chief B. Graham –

Mayor Johansen presented Oliver Fire Chief Bob Graham with the Canadian Volunteer Fire Services Association’s Municipal Long Service Award. This medal commemorates 30 years of service in the volunteer firefighting community. Bob Graham has been Oliver’s Fire Chief since 2017, and prior to that, the Deputy Fire Chief since 2011 and an active member for over 25 years.

By ROY WOOD

The troubled Oliver Landing development seems set to move forward after town council granted a development permit for the second and third phases of the ambitious project at Sawmill Road and Co-op Avenue.

A new company, Oliver Landing Phase 2 and 3 Development Corporation, is now running the project. The leading players remain essentially the same however, particularly managing partner Thomas Beyer.

In a telephone interview this morning, Beyer referred to himself as the “main investor” in the new company, which bought the land for phases two and three from the former development company.

Council’s approval on Monday is conditional on the new company completing the long overdue landscaping on the 12-unit phase one at an estimated cost of $52,000. The permit approval also included several minor set-back and parking requirement revisions.

Phase two includes three four-plexes on the southern edge of the development. Eight units face south toward the town works yard and four look east to the Okanagan River, set back from the hike and bike path.

The 16 units in phase three include 12 along the river and four also facing east, but along an internal road.

The three-storey units are all in the 1,350-1,450 square foot and are built in fourplexes.

Beyer said he expects the internal units to sell in the low-to-mid-$400,000 range and he riverfront homes to go in the low $500s. His hope is to complete phase two by the summer of 2021 and phase three a year later.

He said the next steps for the company are to finish the landscaping on phase one and seek building permits, likely by the end of April. 

Then after filing the appropriate disclosures with the province, he said, pre-selling the units will begin. Once about six units are pre-sold, construction financing will be sought and building will start.   

The Oliver Landing development has been plagued by delays since its inception in 2016, having to do with hiring and retaining sub-contractors and some disputes with the town building inspector.

Beyer pointed out that former project manager David Perehudoff no longer has any involvement with Oliver Landing. He indicated some legal disputes with Perehudoff are working their way through the court system.

For his part, Perehudoff remains involved with Oliver Heights, a completely separate development in the northwest part of the town.

Beyer seemed optimistic about the Oliver Landing project at the council meeting on Monday, telling ODN the market is better than it was three years ago. He said this morning: “I want to finally make some money … I lost a lot of money on phase one.”

As for the longer term, Beyer still owns a large remainder of the site that was once a horse farm. Phases four and five, directly north of phases one through 3, remain far in the future and are still something of a “blank slate,” he said.