Agenda Package - City of Vernon

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B. Rationale:
The Tourist Commercial Waterfront Neighbourhood Plan was adopted in 2003,
creating a vision for Vernon's Okanagan Lake waterfront. Since the adoption of that
plan, tñere have been a number of proposed changes to its elements, including
alterations to the proposed road nehruork and amendments to the land use
designations.
Due to the number of proposed changes, Council, at its Regular Meeting of February
13,2006, authorized staff to undertaÈe a comprehensive plan update. However, this
update was suspended to allow for the adoption of the new Official Community Plan in
2008 and for the design of the enhancement of the wetlands area'
The Official Community Plan was adopted in 2008 and the wetlands design was
completed in 2009. Coúncil, at its Regular Meeting of June 22,2009, authorized staff
to proceed with the update of the neighbourhood plan.
A draft plan has been prepared for Council's consideration and endorsement for the
purposes of public consultation (see Attachment 1).
Plan Overview
The Tourist Commercial Waterfront Plan area was designated as a neighbourhood
centre in the OCP 2008. With this designation, the name of the plan is proposed to
change from "Tourist Commercial Waterfront Neighbourhood Plan" to "Waterfront
Neighbourhood Centre Plan'"
The boundaries of the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre Plan are proposed to be
expanded to include the Okanagan Landing Elementary School, the Okanagan
tanOing Volunteer Fire Departmenl Hall and a number of properties currently zoned
C6 Villãge Commercial, R5 Four-Plex Residential and R2 Large Lot Residential. The
inclusioñ of these properties would allow the plan to address the role of these
properties in the overall development of the neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood centres are intended to develop into compact, complete
neigìhbourhoods that bring services and employment closer to where people live. The
draft plan proposes to reduce the area designated for tourist commercial development
and instead proposes a mix of uses that would create a complete neighbourhood for
permanent rèsidents. This change in designation provides opportunities to combine
residential and tourism development.
Many areas that were formerly designated for tourist commercial uses would be
assigned new designations. A mixed use commercial core would provide comme.rcial
uses located primalif at street level along Okanagan Landing Road and Lakeshore
Road with residential development above. This mixed use core would be surrounded
by areas designated to allow for the development of a variety of housing types
including tourist apartment development.
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