PALCOR DOCK WILL BE AN IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR TOWN COUNCIL

(OSOYOOS TIMES — May 23, 2007) –

It may not be Page 1 news every week, but the issue of large boat docks proposed for Osoyoos Lake is an increasingly sensitive one to a growing number of people in town.
The latest proposed dock did make Page 3 in our paper this week.
Palcor, the developer of the impressive Walnut Beach Resort on the east Osoyoos lakeshore, has resurrected its proposal of a year ago for a large dock that would jut out 65 feet into the lake.
There are pros and cons to all the developments currently going on in our town, and they exist for this dock proposal, too.
Many Osoyoos residents have welcomed development here. The condos and new residents bring with them more tax revenue for amenities and projects in town, and they bring more people here to shop in our stores and join in our clubs and activities.
And when people come here and invest in developments, they deserve to be able to enjoy recreation such as boating. But that's not an unfettered right. Witness the Town's recent ban on a dock for the Watermark development downtown.
To its credit, in the year since Palcor's first pitch for its large dock didn't gain approval, the company commissioned a study which it says shows that the project can be done in an environmentally responsible way.
Palcor is now applying for a variance from the Town of Osoyoos dock bylaw, which would normally limit docks to a 30-foot span into the lake.
But the dock bylaw was passed for a reason. With development all around it, the lake faces challenges to both the quantity and quality of its water. And the Palcor dock won't be far from Haynes Point Provincial Park and the intake for the Osoyoos Rural Irrigation District's water supply, where silt churned up by boats can become a problem.
Condos and resorts need docks, but the lake must be preserved, too “ for fish, fowl and all of us humans.
We urge our Town councillors to balance Palcor's need for a dock with the needs of the lake and all Osoyoos residents.