On Tuesday, April 15, North Shuswap residents will have an opportunity to voice their support or concerns for designating Lee Creek as a secondary settlement area.
The proposed amendment to the Electoral Area F official community plan has already sparked opinion.
“We’ve been getting a lot of letters – a significant number of them in support,” says Gerald Christie, Columbia Shuswap Regional District development services manager.
Christie says there has also been misinformation about the purpose of the amendment.
“The main amendment proposed for Lee Creek, and the one everyone is focused on, is some mapping changes,” says Christie, noting the change would allow some future subdivision and development in the Lee Creek area.
“What most people are worried about is that it would be a strip mall and big-box development or gas stations.”
But what area residents have asked CSRD for are more small-scale amenities such as sidewalks, street lights, a public park and a firehall.
“But it’s important to remember that just because this wording is being included in the OCP, people would still have to go through the OCP amendment process, as well as the rezoning process,” he says. “All this is doing is setting up a bit of a long-term vision for the area.”
Some of the misinformation circulating on the North Shuswap includes the notion that Lee Creek is being viewed as a development centre akin to the Scotch Creek settlement area.
One of the things an OCP amendment would allow is the subdivision of some properties into two separate lots, something that is not currently permitted, except for very large properties.
The public meeting will be held at 1 p.m., April 15 at the Scotch Creek Firehall.