A proposal for a multi-year development along Kamloops Lake could see the former Padova City redeveloped.
The Agricultural Land Commission will consider the proposal to build on 470 acres at Cooney Bay, at the very northwest of Kamloops city boundaries.
A future subdivision there could include 3,500 units of housing, a school, a winery, a lakefront inn, a village shopping centre and farm uses.
All of the housing units and other structures would be south of Tranquille-Criss Creek Road and the adjacent CN Rail line. Pastures, orchards and vineyards would be spread on both sides of the road.
“This has been a project that’s been, in some form, on the books for at least a decade. And it’s obvious that the proponents are thinking this is a good opportunity to put it forward again. Because of the desire for single-family residential lots,” Kamloops mayor Ken Christian says.
If the ALC supports the development application, Kamloops council would then have to decide on rezoning the land, and a public hearing would happen beforehand.
“The disadvantage with this one, of course, is that it’s quite a ways out of Kamloops. So that remains to be seen, what would happen at a rezoning. But yesterday we did move it forward to the ALC and they will rule on the airability of the property,” Christian says.
“There’s competing interests here. One is the desire to have affordable lots for entry-level housing, the other part is urban sprawl. So I suspect if this goes to a public hearing, we will hear from people on either side of that argument. And it will be up to council to make a decision at that point.”
Council would also have to amend the Official Community Plan (KamPlan) and the Tranquille on the Lake neighbourhood plan, as a development as significant as this is not currently included in the city’s future plans.
The current land space includes farmland, undeveloped riparian areas around the Tranquille River and the former Padova City, which was used as a provincial institution between 1907 and 1983.
Kamloops city staff say opportunities for preserving historic buildings will be looked at if the development plan is supported by the ALC. The Tranquille on the Lake neighbourhood plans also outlines the soil under those buildings would need to be remediated before future development goes ahead, and the plan also says protecting the natural environment is required.
