FILE PHOTO
(JENNA HICKMAN / iNFOnews.ca)
April 02, 2021 – 11:51 a.m.
The city of Kelowna is suing the owners of the Eldorado Hotel, claiming a gate has been locked to prevent public access to the foreshore.
The lawsuit filed by the city on March 30 alleges that the hotel’s previous owners had an agreement with the Department of Environment, Land and Parks to reserve a public walkway along the Okanagan seafront of the property.
The hotel also wanted to build a fuel plant, which required approval of a development permit from the city. It was approved in 1999 as long as legal proceedings indicated that the hotel had public access along the foreshore of Lake Okanagan.
In the spring of 2020, Hotel Eldorado blocked public access by locking a gate at the southern end of the walkway and, according to city lawsuits, refused to open it between sunrise and sunset every day.
“The reason given by the defendant to lock the gate and deny the public access to perpetual right of way was a public health risk due to a possible transmission of COVID-19 allegedly caused by the closeness of the public to the unlimited right goes through – on the way to the staff and to the guests of food and drink “, claims the city.
The city claims that the hotel’s denial of public walkway access on public health grounds is not justified as the city has kept other public walkways and pathways open while complying with COVID-19 public health regulations .
The hotel has also stated that it has denied public access due to safety concerns due to possible pedestrian-vehicle conflict at the start of the Cook Road boat. However, the city claims that there have been no cases of pedestrian injuries according to legal proceedings.
The city is requesting an explanation that the hotel has violated its agreement, as well as a permanent order that the hotel must keep the gate open and unlocked between sunrise and sunset. It also wants the hotel to get rid of the landscaping or other enhancements that encroach on the right of way and for the hotel to pay the city’s cost for the procedure.
None of these allegations have been proven in court. Argus Properties LTD., Which owns the hotel, could not be immediately reached for comment. No statement of defense has been filed.
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