Hundreds Protest New Development on Penticton's Waterfront

A large group of protesters gathered in Penticton Monday afternoon as people gathered to support and oppose the proposed Skaha Marina development.

The Skaha Lake Marina development would include a big waterslide development on Skaha beach, turning public park land into a private waterpark. The land would be leased to Trio Marine Group and the proposal includes a marina, restaurant, and five waterslides. Since the proposal was suggested, an outcry of anger has come from many residents.

A petition has been launched with more than 800 signatures in support of saving the green space and not developing on the land. No referendum was held on the issue, but a previous public hearing on the development was held. In the end, council voted 5-2 in support of the project. In light of the community outpouring against the proposal, the City of Penticton has released information about the project to clear up any confusion.

Protesting down at City Hall!

A video posted by Casa Grande (@casagrandeinn) on Jul 20, 2015 at 5:07pm PDT

On the city’s website, it says that it is not “giving away” any land or park space, but rather leasing the land to Trio Marine Group. The money from the lease and sales would go back into a dedicated account to be reinvested into park spaces or waterfront amenities. The biggest point of contention with the development is a free splash pad that was donated to the project.

“It was built by one of Penticton’s service groups, Rotary, and the City and Trio both commit to ensuring access to this donated amenity will remain,” said the city in a statement. “Under the agreement, Trio is required to have dialogue with stakeholders like Rotary on outstanding items like the splash pad. Rotary also contributed the Centennial Pavilion at Skaha Lake Park, and this feature will remain unchanged.”

While the development is causing a large public outcry from concerned resident, there are also plenty of people in support of the new waterfront amenity. The project has been approved by city council so it is unlikely it will not move forward, barring some unforeseen financial barrier. However, it is unknown if any changes will occur following this public showing.