‘Tainted process’: City says paid supporters attended public hearing for former RCMP site

The city said 24 people made submissions on behalf of the developer, with half referencing the need for affordable housing, student housing or affordable student housing.

City council in Kelowna, B.C., will be asked next week to rescind the development permit it issued for a highly desirable piece of property in the downtown core.

The site at 350 Doyle Ave., former home of the Kelowna RCMP and now an empty lot, has been the subject of endless speculation since 2015. Should it be transformed into a highrise? An arts and entertainment hub? A grand collaboration of mixed-use development?

Eventually, after the detachment was demolished in December 2018, the lot went up for lease, with council being swayed by highrise developer Appelt Properties following a lengthy process.

That process included making appearances before council, with the city setting a height of 13 storeys, though that was later increased to 25 storeys through a variance permit.

However, Monday’s city council package said that in October 2022, “the city and council-elect began to receive statements that some of the public intervenors had been paid to speak in favour of the 350 Doyle application.”

The package said “in particular, the mayor received an email in early January from one individual confirming that at the request of a friend, he and several others had spoken in favour of the project and ‘was paid $250 via e-transfer for my comments.’”

It then said “upon further investigation by staff, Appelt Properties confirmed a company hired by them to engage with the public did provide ‘nominal expenses’ to an unspecified number of persons who spoke in support of the application during the meeting.”

According to the city, 24 people made submissions on behalf of the developer on July 26, 2022, with half referencing the need for affordable housing, student housing or affordable student housing.