PLANNING SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORT

Transcription

1 Planning Services 1450 K.L.O. Road Kelowna, B.C. V1W 3Z4 Telephone: (250) Fax: (250) PLANNING SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORT For the Board March 8 th, 2004 TO: FROM: Chair & Members of the Regional Board Ron Fralick, Planning Assistant DATE: SUBJECT: Land & Water BC Inc. Referral Application Proposed changes to an existing Commercial Lease at Postill Lake Resort Lot 2206, ODYD (Our File: CL-03-09) (Reference File: ) RECOMMENDATION: 1. THAT application CL for Postill Lake Resort to permit 8 additional campsites be supported subject to: The condition identified by the Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District to post signage advising that Postill Lake is a source of domestic drinking water; Submission of a more detailed site plan to Land and Water B.C. Inc. and the Regional District clearly identifying all buildings, structures, campground area, etc., including all setbacks from the high water mark of Postill Lake. 2. AND FURTHER THAT the Planning Services Department Report dated March 2 nd, 2004 be forwarded to Land and Water B.C. Inc. for their information. PURPOSE: To consider a Land Referral application from Land and Water B.C. Inc. to allow a change to Postill Lake Resorts existing Commercial Lease by allowing 8 additional campsites. POLICY: The subject property is not located within the boundaries of an Official Community Plan /2

2 Page 2 of 5 and therefore no formal policies apply to this application. It is noted that OCP objectives and policies of the Regional District stress that levels of nutrients and effluent disposal entering watercourses must be reduced, and that the Regional District will liase with the various water purveyors to ensure an overall coordinated water management strategy for adequate water supply and quality as the community expands. RATIONALE: Applicant has been working cooperatively with the Regional District and Interior Health to ensure that all of the resort facilities and buildings meet current requirements and bylaws; Addition of 8 campsites will have minimal impact recognizing that the sites would only be utilized for approximately 4 months per year and that there are approved sewage facilities on-site; Existing sewage disposal system has been located as far as possible from Postill Lake (approximately 100 metres); The addition of 8 campsites at the resort will result in a total of 24 wilderness accommodation units at Postill Lake Resort which is substantially less than the density permitted under the current C8 zoning (50 wilderness accommodation units are permitted); The removal of 5 pit toilets and relocation of 1 toilet further from Postill Lake will substantially reduce potential impacts to the watershed. BACKGROUND: The applicant, Postill Lake Lodge, is requesting Regional Board support for a change to their existing Commercial Lease by allowing 8 additional campsites. Land and Water B.C. Inc. have indicated preliminary support subject to approval from the Regional District and Interior Health. The application was presented to the Board at their meeting of February 9, The Board deferred the application in order for staff to gather further information regarding the issue of pit toilets location and what options may be available. This matter is discussed in more detail in the Planning Services Department section of the report. RELEVANT INFORMATION: APPLICANT: MAILING ADDRESS: LOCATION: LEGAL: LOT SIZE: ZONING: Postill Lake Lodge Postill Lake Road, Kelowna, B.C., V1P 1A2 Adjacent to Postill Lake within Electoral Area Ellison/Joe Rich That part of DL 2206, ODYD +/- 900 square metres (0.55 acres) C8 Wilderness Resort Commercial /3

3 Page 3 of 5 OCP: EXISTING USE: N/A Wilderness resort The subject Crown Land is located approximately 15 km east of the Kelowna Airport within the Ellison/Joe Rich Electoral Area. The resort is accessed via Postill Lake Road north of the Kelowna Airport. The resort site is zoned C8 Wilderness Resort Commercial in Zoning Bylaw #871, and is not located within the boundaries of the Ellison Area Official Community Plan. The plan submitted with the application indicates that the proposed campsites will be located metres (40 ft.) from the high water mark of Postill Lake and situated in the southwest corner of Lot The existing resort facility is comprised of a lodge, 15 cabins, 10 campsites, a washroom/shower facility, and several workshops. The septic field for the resort facilities is located at the northwest corner of the site, as per the attached sketch plan. Interior Health has approved the shower/washroom facility and septic system for Postill Lake Lodge. AGENCY REFERRALS: The following represent the key agency comments presented to the Board on February 9, Interior Health has no objection to the 8 additional campsites as the campers do not utilize the washroom facilities in the cabins and therefore do not add additional sewage flows to the on-site sewage disposal system. The Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District s Trustees advise that they approve the 8 additional campsites at Postill Lake Resort on the following condition; that they have permission to post signage along the waterfront, inside all cabins and washroom facilities advising that Postill Lake is a source of Drinking Water, and that activities in and around the lake could impact the drinking water quality. PLANNING SERVICES DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: Direction of the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) and Board policy is to support land use applications on Crown Land within domestic watersheds that will protect water quality. The RGS indicates that water resources (quantity & quality) is the highest priority issue facing future growth and development in the RDCO. In addition, the objectives and policies of the Regional District s OCP s stresses that water quality is the prime determinant within watersheds with regard to considering other land uses. It is noted that the current owners of Postill Lake Lodge have been working cooperatively with the Regional District and Interior Health to ensure that all of the resort facilities and /4

4 Page 4 of 5 buildings meet current requirements and bylaws. The existing sewage disposal system is located as far as possible from Postill Lake (approximately 100 metres in the northwest corner of their lease area) and has been approved by Interior Health. The addition of 8 campsites at the resort will result in a total of 24 wilderness accommodation units at Postill Lake Resort which is substantially less than the density permitted under the current C8 zoning (50 wilderness accommodation units are permitted). Further to the Board deferral of the application on February 9, 2004, the applicant has submitted information and a plan regarding all existing pit toilets at the resort facility. The following is a breakdown and status of the on-site pit toilets: Total of 18 pit toilets at Postill Lake Resort, 17 of which are located in excess of 30 metres (100 ft.) from the high water mark of the lake; 2 pit toilets have not been used for years and will be removed; The owners are willing to remove another 2 pit toilets immediately and will remove1 additional toilet when an enviro toilet is installed; The 1 pit toilet located less than 30 metres from the high water mark will be relocated to a distance of metres (200 ft.) from the high water mark. When the proposed work is complete, the resort will have 13 pit toilets, all located 30 to 60 meters from the high water mark (7 of the 13 toilets will be 60 metres to 87 metres from the high water mark). It is noted that the pit toilet setbacks will meet, or exceed recommendations contained in the Land Development Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Habitat jointly published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection. The pit toilet locations also meet and exceed the floodplain setbacks identified in Zoning Bylaw No While it is recognized that Postill Lake is a domestic watershed and protection of water quality is of the utmost importance, Planning Services Department staff believe that the addition of 8 campsites will have minimal impact recognizing that the camping season on high altitude mountain lakes in this area is approximately 4 months per year. In addition, the removal of at least 5 pit toilets and relocation of 1 toilet further from the lake will substantially reduce potential impacts to the watershed. It is also noted that the buildings and associated facilities at Postill Lake Resort are located at a much greater distance from the lake than what exists at other domestic watershed lakes. For example, there are many recreational cabins and pit toilets located less than 15 metres from the high water mark at domestic reservoir lakes such as Beaver Lake, Crooked Lake, and the remainder of the Dee Lake Chain. Planning Services and Engineering Services Department staff has reviewed the issue of on-site sewage disposal and discussed the matter with staff from the Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District. /5

5 Page 5 of 5 The Improvement District advises that they have an extensive water quality-monitoring program in place for their watershed which includes Postill Lake. Water testing commences at the time of ice-off, normally in the month of May, and testing occurs every 2 weeks throughout the ice-free season at 2 locations; one test at the lakeside side of the outlet stream and 1 test at the outlet side of the dam. The water samples are tested for various quality criteria (ie: PH, colour, turbidity, etc.). One of the bi-weekly samples is tested for coliform, and a minimum of one test per year is completed to assess Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and for ecoli coliform. In addition, the District acquires the services of a private consultant to complete a yearly assessment of phosphorous and algae levels in the lake. RDCO staff recommends that this testing continue to be monitored in order to assess whether the additional campsite development is impacting water quality, or whether the removal of several pit toilets and relocation of 1 toilet is helping to improve water quality in the reservoir. In light of the above, Regional District staff is supportive of the water testing program implemented by the Improvement District. We also believe that the resort operator is conscious of the water quality issue and is striving to reduce impacts at the reservoir. The resort operators also act as guardians of the watershed area, ensuring that environmentally best practises are occurring in and around the lake. Subject to the conditions identified in the Recommendation section at the beginning of the report, the Planning Services Department recommends that the Regional Board support Land and Water BC Inc. referral application CL for Postill Lake Lodge to permit a change to their existing Commercial Lease by allowing 8 additional campsites. Respectfully submitted, Ron Fralick Planning Assistant (Jason Johnson, Manager of Current Planning) Attached RF/cb H:\PLANNING\APPLICA\RON\CROWN LAND\20 Referrals\2003\CL-03-09\REPORT2.doc