An application before Council proposes 65 row townhouses at 4482 & 4498 Gordon Drive — served by a single driveway onto a school-frontage arterial already gridlocked at drop-off.
We are not against housing on Gordon Drive. We support thoughtful development that fits the neighbourhood and keeps it safe. We are against this proposal — this scale, this density, on this access point.
Kelowna’s Official Community Plan Policy 7.2.1 already sets the standard for development like this. Here it is, in plain language. Read the detail →
A single driveway onto an arterial already at “dangerous” merge conditions in the morning peak, beside a sidewalk used daily by children walking to four schools and a daycare. The traffic study was done over spring break, with no morning data.
The OCP requires new buildings to “transition their height and massing towards adjacent lower-density neighbourhoods.” A single consolidated 65-unit block on one access point does not. We support development that fits the street — this form does not.
Policy 7.2.1 calls for a public park and an affordable or rental component in projects this size. This proposal includes neither — and the MF2 zoning it’s asking for gives the City no way to require those components. They build; the neighbourhood pays.
Underneath the three tests is a simpler problem: the concept shown with this application is illustrative, not binding. Approving the rezoning sets the density and use permanently — and the later Development Permit can only shape the building’s form within that zoning, not reduce it or revisit whether it belongs here. The public’s real say is now. Read more →
We are not opposed to development on this land. We support thoughtful development — homes built the right way, with massing that steps down toward neighbouring properties, safe vehicle access, and a complete traffic study covering the morning peak during a regular school week. The City required the neighbouring strata to build a 30-metre curb extension for safe egress; this proposal has not been held to that standard. We are asking Council for thoughtful development on Gordon Drive — not the thoughtless densification this application represents.
Once Council adopts these bylaws, the change attaches to the land permanently — it applies to any current or future owner. See what’s being proposed and how it gets decided →
Kelowna’s 2040 OCP was adopted on January 10, 2022 after a multi-year public consultation. It designated this site as Suburban Residential. This application asks Council to change that designation — for a single proposal — four years and four months later.
BC law requires OCPs to be reviewed on a five-year cycle. The legislated review of Kelowna’s 2040 OCP is not yet due. Why amend it site-by-site, before the proper community-wide review? Read the OCP question →
Tell Council that Gordon Drive deserves development that is safe, properly studied, and fits the neighbourhood. A short letter from you, in your own words, carries far more weight than any petition signature.
Write to Council Sign the petition