The City of Vernon is hosting two open houses in February to gain public feedback on the draft Lake Access Plan. The plan update is intended to prioritize improvements including construction schedule, determine which accesses to dispose of, and address any potential gaps between the current lake access points.
During the Parks Master Plan public consultation, Vernon residents identified access to the lake as a top priority. There are currently 39 access sites to Okanagan Lake in Vernon but most are not signed or easily accessed. The draft Plan identifies 13 sites as being a high priority for improvements, 14 as medium priorities and 10 as low priorities. The draft plan also recommends that two lake access sites be sold. Currently, one lake access site a year is proposed to be improved starting with high priority sites.
Vernon residents are invited to visit open houses to review the draft Lake Access Plan, ask questions and provide feedback. The two open houses are taking place:
- February 15, 3 – 7 p.m. at Paddlewheel Hall (7813 Okanagan Landing Road) and
- February 25, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Vernon Recreation Centre (3310 37 Avenue).
The feedback collected from the public will be reviewed in March and presented to Council with a final Lake Access Plan expected in Summer 2017.
In addition to the open houses, community members can find more information and complete an online feedback form at vernon.ca/lakeaccess. Interested residents can also email lakeaccess@vernon.ca or call 250-550-3634.