For those not familiar with the Waterscapes project on Sunset Drive in Kelowna BC, there is a second phase to the project which was originally approved in 2007. The second phase consisted of 4 additional four-story apartment units that would be located off Ellis Street and connected to the existing Waterscapes Development.

In August 2022, Ledingham McAllister (the Developer) submitted an application to the city to rezone the second phase to UC1 (Urban Central) to provide for a mix of commercial and residential uses with variable heights.  They have also requested the following two (2) Variances:

1. Podium Height - a height variance of 5 storeys instead of 4 storeys.

2. Building Separation - a variance between the towers from the required 30 meters separation to 25 meters separation.  

If approved, the proposed project called Vintage @ Waterscapes would consist of four towers (36, 34, 32 and 29 stories), including an above ground five-story parkade.  In other words The Vintage @ Waterscapes would be twice the size of the One Water Street project at the corner of Clement and Sunset Drive.  You can view the Ledingham McAllister application in the link below.

https://www.kelowna.ca/homes-building/property-development/current-developments/z21-0108 

We believe there are many reasons to oppose this application:

• It doesn't align with 4 principles of the Kelowna 2040 Official Community Plan
  • Zoning Heights - currently set at 26-stories
  • Avoid Walled Developments - discourage development enclosed on all sides by walls or other visual barriers
  • Avoid Cliff Heights - avoid the height of one building to be significantly taller than an adjacent one.
  • Avoid Shadowing - minimize shadowing impacts on adjacent building, parks, public spaces & streets. 
• The four proposed towers on top of a five-story parkade would be twice the size of the One Water Street project, built on a piece of land that is approximately 5% smaller.
• Ellis Street is a two lane street with limited if any room to be widened, so how will it effectively accommodate the traffic from an additional 1116 condo units.  Additionally, when the Tolko Mill site is fully developed, Ellis will be affected by even more traffic.
• A former Kelowna firefighter says high-rises are being built without adequate staffing. He points out that it takes a minimum of 43 firefighters for any building over 7 storeys, and the Kelowna fire department has about 23 available at any given time. Read Steve Brandel's concerns below. 
  KelownaNow_Former Firefighter
• Many residents facing the towers will lose their views and privacy.

It's easy to visualize the dramatic impact the podium and towers will have for the area and the residents of 1075, 1093, 1151, 1187 and 1191 Sunset Drive as the present lake, mountain or city views would be replaced by a wall of towers and concrete.

People live or move to Kelowna for what it is presently, a human city. Do we want our low lying areas to be filled with concrete instead of pathways and greenspaces? Do we want Kelowna to become a replicate of the high-rises throughout False Creek in Vancouver?

To get engaged and voice your opinion on this proposed development:

1.  Sign & comment on this Vintage Towers Proposal Petition    www.change.org/rethinkws2

2.  Send an email with your contact info to:  rethinkws2@outlook.com  to receive updates & notices when the City of Kelowna Public Hearing date is announced.  High attendance at a Public Hearing does influence the decision of the Mayor & Counsellors!   

Please keep this petition moving by sharing where possible.