Kelowna residents petition court to get properties removed from park designation

A group of Kelowna residents are petitioning B.C.’s Supreme Court saying they don’t want their lakefront homes to be designated for a future public park.

A petition filed Feb. 9,  from residents Murray Braaten, Lyle Braaten, Norma Sebestyen, Sheila Braaten and Terry Gold, claims the city’s designation of their properties located at 3200 and 3206 Watt Road as a future park in its draft 2040 Official Community Plan is “unlawful, unreasonable and was made in bad faith.”

The park designation originally only included 3142 Watt but was expanded to include their properties as part of eight lots in the OCP to create a large legacy park, they said in the petition.

READ MORE: Kelowna looking to create major new beach park on Okanagan Lake

In 2021 and 2020, they said they received notices from the city stating their properties would be designated as a park with the goal of providing the public with access to the beach.

In a meeting on Jan. 8, 2021 with city staff, the petitioners claim they were told the city would likely acquire the properties as they become available, rather than expropriating them.

Following discussions with city staff, the petitioners said staff decided to designate park use to 3142 Watt Road and an adjacent lot owned by resident Michael Neill.

In correspondence from Neill and the other property owners with Coun. Ryan Donn, they claim he was sarcastic when Neill raised a concern to him and Donn replied he is happy to support the staff recommendation and push for more for residents, according to the court documents.

During a July 12, 2021 council meeting, staff recommended the two-lot proposal and would further study and consult with the remaining six lots as the acquisition of all eight would cost roughly $30 million, according to court documents. Council instead decided to include all eight lots as future park use as part of a motion proposed by Donn.

Gold claimed Donn told him he was fine with the two lots but wanted to put all eight under a park designation “to give future council an easy decision,” and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

The petitioners claim Donn’s decision against city staff's recommendation was made in his personal dislike of one of the Watt Road property owners and that he acted in bad faith.

The draft OCP including the eight properties under park designation has been adopted and so has a bylaw for the park designation.

The petitioners are asking the court to quash the adoption of the OCP, or quash the portions of the city’s bylaw designating 3200 and 3206 Watt Road as future public park space.

The city has not yet responded to the petition. Donn said via text that discussions around the decision are available publicly and he expects the City of Kelowna will formally respond.

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