Proponents of an outdoor performance venue continue to defend their planning process.
About 80 people attended an open house Tuesday hosted by the Okanagan Summer Festival Society, which is proposing up to a 5,500-seat amphitheatre in a ravine at Okanagan College in Coldstream.
“A large majority were there to discuss the potential impact of our proposal on the neighbourhood,” said Diane Bond, with the society.
Many residents in the adjacent subdivision have expressed concerns that an amphitheatre will create noise and traffic and development of the ravine could negatively impact the environment and cause flooding.
“We anticipated everything we heard,” said Bond. “We have a long list of things we’re proposing as part of the pre-construction process, including environmental and engineering studies. But we have to fund those. We are a charity and we have to do these things bit by bit.”
The first priority is sound testing.
“That will take until the end of the year until we get that report and we will share that report,” said Bond.
Bond still believes the location is the best for an amphitheatre because of the slope, proximity to Highway 97 and its view of Kalamalka Lake.
“Until someone comes forward with a site that meets our criteria and that we can afford, it (moving) is academic,” she said.
“We searched for locations for some time.”
Beyond the critics, Bond says there were people at Tuesday’s meeting who were interested in the project and recognize the process is in the early stages.
“They wanted to get more information.”
The amphitheatre could cost $5 to $10 million, with the money possibly coming from senior government grants and donations.