Regarding the downtown redevelopment plan, there has been a lot of public reaction to matters such as building heights and the trade-off of density for amenities, but little regarding the planning process that the City is following. I am speaking about creating a comprehensive plan for the four block area in question that is in isolation from the remainder of the downtown.
In a report to city council last summer City, consultant Ray Spaxman criticized the City for the ad hoc planning that was happening downtown with there been too many overlapping plans and not enough authority given to the overall Downtown Plan to coordinate them. But it looks like the City is about to do it once again and create another plan there that isn’t tied in with the Downtown Plan.
In their submissions to the City two prominent groups with an interest in the downtown have made similar observations. The Downtown Centre Strategy Task Force which was commissioned by the City to advise it on downtown matters said in their report that “The proposed plan has been created in isolation … of the surrounding downtown area” and that “a holistic approach to land use, height and density of the whole downtown … is necessary before the proposed height and density of this four block area is considered.” Similarly, the Downtown Kelowna Association observed that “this exercise has yet to show itself in context to the entire downtown.”
Although some residents naively believe that the building heights and density found in the Milroy plan will be confined to that area, it is far more probable that they will set the standard for the rest of the downtown. Therefore, the City should follow the recommendations in the Spaxman Report and immediately commence revising the Downtown Plan.
