'Absurd': Vernon council approves dense development miles from downtown

A move by Vernon council to approve a 57-unit development on a hilly five-acre plot fits with the urban density housing that the province is pushing cities to adopt, it's just that in this case, the development isn't very urban. Sitting eight kilometres from downtown Vernon, with a solid hour walk to the nearest grocery store, the 57-unit development is now slated for an acreage in the Foothills neighbourhood off Silver Star Road. One voice of opposition called it "absurd" and "against all good planning" and even Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming described the Foothills neighbourhood as an "unusual extension to a city." Nonetheless, Mayor Cumming along with the rest of council voted in favour of the development yesterday, May 28, following a well-attended public hearing full of voices of opposition. The development proposes 57 units which will consist of 13 semi-detached properties, seven fourplexes and one tri-plex. The development will also be run as a strata. The site sits between Bates Road and Herbert Road on a hilly site currently surrounded by trees. A "No Exit, Local Traffic Only" sign indicates that the residents of the dozen or so $1-million acreages on Herbert Road get to live on a rather quiet and peaceful street. How peaceful it will be once the development is built was an obvious concern for the neighbours. And while the development only really affects about a dozen properties, voices against the project were at least three times that. Neighbouring property owner Fitzpatrick Todd said it was "beyond belief" that 57 units could be put in an area of rural acreages. Multiple others shared his point of view. The development was also criticized for not being accessible by public transit and the nearest school is not within walking distance. Both aspects that proponents of urban densification call for. Other criticisms were more bizarre, with one person asking how the crime that came with the development would be prevented. Standing at the top of Bates Road it's not hard to see why those living in the area don't want it to change. A sign at the top of Herbert Road featuring a picture of the proposed new housing reads "Is this 'exactly what we want,'" a slight against Vernon councillors who praised the development during a council meeting last fall. Another sign advertises a change.org petition called "Stop Urban Sprawl: Protect BX Country Residential Land." The petition has garnered more than 200 signatures. While there are only around a dozen properties on Herbert Road, residents from Manning Place, just south of the proposed development, also shared their dissatisfaction with the project during the public hearing. The two dozen properties on that road will also see an influx of traffic as the new housing plots sit bare waiting to be built on. What was two dead-end roads are now connected, adding to residents' traffic woes. While it does appear to be an odd place to densify, Cumming explained the decision to build in the Foothills and surrounding area went back more than a decade. In 2014, the City annexed the area east of Silver Star Road from the regional district and earmarked it for residential development with an eye to continuing the Foothills neighbourhood which even then contained more than 500 homes. "It was an unusual decision at the time, I guess is the polite way of putting it," the mayor told the meeting. "This is a completion of the neighbourhood plan and we will continue to develop there extensively," Cumming said. Ultimately, Vernon council voted unanimously in favour of the development, although councillor Kari Gares was absent from the meeting. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .