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How will you ensure a project or projects benefiting Peachland’s watershed receives provincial attention and funding?
- Research available funding programs and grants available. - Ensuring proper paperwork is submitted to prevent delays or rejection. - Advocate to the appropriate Ministers on behalf of Peachland. - I want to ensure that proposed projects will not endanger our watershed.
How would you make this happen?
Collaborate with the key stakeholders and make sure they understand the importance of watersheds. People do not understand that without our watershed, we have no water..regardless of a water treatment plant.
Explain how you would implement this or why you would not.
Discuss with council the possibility of implementing a usage tax on businesses using Princeton as a Commercial roadway. I need to research if we are even capable of applying a levy to businesses on a municipal level or if it must be approached on a provincial level. If municipal, I will put forth a motion to explore Commercial Usage Fees to businesses that excessively use residential roads.
What additions would you suggest to this second request letter, considering clear cutting has continued for the intervening three-plus years and still further road building and tree removal are planned?
Create a petition to provide intent, via resident signatures, expressing the need for immediate response and action on the first submitted letter.
Does Peachland Have Enough Water? As of August 2022, no one in the District of Peachland can confirm we have enough water for all current and planned developments. A rough calculation suggests a population increase of 11,000 is possible if all approved and proposed developments on the books in the planning department are completed and occupied. District Consultants’ water supply reports quote a variety of numbers, gleaned from a variety of inconsistent assumptions. One report stated that in order to provide enough water for these developments, major engineering would be required in order to divert creeks and other water sources into Peachland Creek to feed the Peachland water-treatment plant. Besides the financial costs, such engineering works have the potential to permanently alter the ecosystem of the watershed, destroy fish-bearing habitat, wildlife connectivity, forests and habitat, recreation opportunity, trail systems, hunting grounds, and environmental water flow patterns. How much are you willing to compromise our water source for the sake of development, given that climate change may very well prolong water shortages, watering restrictions and potential engineering works for increasing the flow of water could cause irreparable environmental damage to the very ecosystem that creates the water in the first place? Are you comfortable engaging on behalf of the District if acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements in the watershed as well as service negotiations with Glencore or other industry, for example, may be involved?*
Yes. I understand the importance of engagement for advocacy, but also understand there are decisions made for us by provincial government. I am not willing to compromise our watershed or WTP and will do my best to come to any table on behalf of Peachland.
. Costs to upgrade, expand or build a new Water Treatment Plant: In 2015, an amendment to the Peachland Water Master Plan was completed by Urban Systems, the conclusion of the report noted that “sufficient water is available within the Peachland Creek watershed to meet the demands of the District of Peachland and the environmental flows as required by the Ministry” at that time. As of today, the existing treatment and distribution system is appropriate for approximately 7100 people. With a future population projection in the region of 15,000, there will need to be some upgrades undertaken to meet those flow demands. For example, after the 7100 threshold is reached, an upgrade in storage / reservoir capacity at the treatment plant will be required. Similarly, once the 11,300 threshold is reached, an upgrade of the treatment plant (allowing us to generate more treated water) will be required. As these costs are principally related to further development, the cost will be borne by the developers through the mechanism of development cost charges. The most recent DCC update report estimates the overall costs for all of these upgrades to be approximately $45M. All previous and current developments did not supply near enough money to pay for the costs of the past WTP nor current new WTP, (usage fees, a $400 annual WTP tax, Federal and Provincial grants contributed to the costs). If elected, how will you ensure that these new costs will not be borne AGAIN by the current residents but, by the developers and the future residents through the mechanism of development cost charges, as the district staff suggest? Do you believe this is even possible? If so, how will you ensure Peachland starts to collect a portion of this $45M in your four-year term?
I would suggest the District look to create a WTP Contingency fund, to be solely funded by future development. Developers come and go, and in between that they make money...lots of it. Increase non refundable deposits for "works"' and penalties for failure to comply. There should be an additional fee per unit assessed to go towards the fund for future expansion of the WTP based on units and occupants.