2005-11-26 

         To: City of Kelowna;1435 Water St: Kelowna B.C.

 Re: Glenmore Middle School, Bylaw #9526 (Z05-0048) 2058 Cross Rd & 106 Valley Rd

                   Sirs:

With reference  to the proposal for a new middle school in North Glenmore we are writing to request that the Valley Road North / Sexsmith Road Local Neighbourhood  (VRN/SRLN)  be considered for improvements in concert with this development.  Growth in the North  Glenmore area has been substantial during the past 10 years and has had a major impact on  VRN/SRLN.  The development of a middle school  will further impact the VRN/SRLN.  The services most in need of improvement are health, environment and traffic management.

The entire area of VRN/SRLN is on septic tanks, the soils are dense impermeable clay and the natural surface drainage is toward the east branch of Brandt's Creek.   A number of the septic absorption fields failed many years ago and residents are continuing to limp along with stop-gap repairs to their sewage systems.  Homes in VRN/SRLN are on lots of 1/3 to 1/2 acre and larger comprising of some  60 homes.  Some residences in VRN/SRLN date from prior to amalgamation of Glenmore with the City.  Some disposal systems were built in the 1960's and cannot handle the volumes of water generated in a modern home.  Effluent  is now finding its way into Brandt's Creek.  The cost of continuing to pump out failed systems has become so excessive that had that revenue been applied toward a community sewage collection system,  residents would be well on their way to paying for that system. In spite of its centralized location complete with a fire hall and sports field and two major roads passing through it, VRN/SRLN is being ignored while fringe areas of the City are having sewer services extended to them.   City Engineering has told area residents that sewers in VRN/SRLN area will be development driven.  We fail to see how this is possible when most of the residences with failed systems are on single family lots with little or no opportunity for rezoning or redevelopment and the fact that all the large parcels surrounding the area are in the ALR. 

      It is disturbing to VRN/SRLN residents to have to endure the negative impacts of development surrounding their community and contend with the noise and dust from dump trucks (some illegally operating on Valley Road North which is closed to truck traffic) and heart stopping speeders.  With the exception of bicycle lanes on Valley Road and intersection improvements at Union and Valley Rd, very little of the DCC’s collected from new developments has been shared with VSN/SRLN     Brandt's Creek has been declared an Environmentally Sensitive Zone, when will VRN/SRLN residents be given the tools to ensure that Brandt's Creek remains protected?   With the pending development of a North Glenmore middle school, students will be exposed to the same failed disposal systems that area residents have endured for a  decade.  The construction of the school will draw new students to area homes putting them at risk as they play in their own back yards and along local waterways.  Older homes occupied by couples will be sold or rented to families with middle school aged children and the septic systems will be unable to cope with the higher volumes of sewage discharge.

Construction of the school will draw even more traffic onto antiquated area roads which were developed in the 1920’s and remain in their seriously twisted alignments to this day placing a serious risk to the children who will walk along them. A new school in the area will simply add a burden to both area residents and school users alike.  It is time that the City of Kelowna and the Province of B.C. recognize that this area needs improvements now.

We respectfully request that in considering the development proposal for the new North Glenmore Middle School that the extension of a new trunk sanitary sewer be given top priority and that funds be provided to make the necessary improvements to the Sexsmith Road / Valley Road N corridor to ensure the safety of students attending that school.  We respect that  SD 23 alone should not bear all the responsibility for these changes but the new middle school should be a catalyst for these changes.  There appears to be no area structure plan for such a large development and we respectfully request such a plan be undertaken immediately to include VRN/SRLN in concert with this development.

 Sincerely,

               Dan and Alex Midtdal                                         

Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2005 9:12 AM
To: gvca@shaw.ca
Subject: Notification Received