Sun Rivers residents concerned about overdevelopment with increased pressure on traffic, infrastructure

KAMLOOPS — A handful of Sun Rivers residents, including former Blazer Chris Murray, believe as the community build-out nears its end, it’s about maximizing the community’s footprint at any cost.

Murray has lived along the 17th hole since building in 2010. In particular, he’s concerned about a long-term care home that being built, a facility he and others say wasn’t in Sun Rivers’ Master Plan.

“We always expected that we’d have some buildings put in this area and we expected residential, and now to see it’s a five-storey seniors home, which is pretty much in my backyard. It’s pretty frustrating.”

The Sun Rivers’ Master Plan, developed when the community launched in 1999, indicates the area was slated for adult-oriented residential development. The long-term care home comes as a complete surprise to some residents.

Murray’s neighbour, Bryan Pilbeam, says the project, which is expected to take two years to build, came with no consultation.

“What’s happening now, without any knowledge — no signage, no community engagement — is what seems to be a five-storey nursing home, which is not what it was zoned for, not what there’s been any discussion about. It’s just happening.”

The Sun Rivers’ Development Corporation says it received approval from Tk’emlups te Secwepemc to go ahead with the project and wasn’t require to consult with residents.

The development corporation says it’s four-storey with underground parking and claims it takes up the same footprint as townhomes would.

“That area, for instance, if we’d done a townhouse project there, it could’ve been a three-storey — similar to Rivergate at the main entrance — and it would’ve had three storeys, plus a sloped roof — so pretty much the equivalent of four storeys. Same height as what’s being proposed,” said Rick Siemens from the Sun Rivers Development Corporation. ”

Siemens says the same site could’ve had 25 to 30 townhouse units and may have taken up more space than the care home.

A rendering of the long-term care home that’ll be built in Sun Rivers with the main entrance on East Shuswap Road (Image Credit: Arup Datta Architect)

The residents, however, disagree with that assessment. It’s not only this site, but the entire community they feel is being slowly eaten away. There are 10 single-family lots that have been added to the Master Plan that will be built along the ninth and 10th holes.

With more than 600 units planned for the next decade, there are also traffic and infrastructure concerns.

“The infrastructure here in Sun Rivers, I don’t believe is sufficient to support an additional 600 units they’re proposing right now,” said concern resident Malcolm Ashford. “We have a power outage probably every couple weeks here in Sun Rivers, and I think even [service provider] Corix even admits there’s insufficient infrastructure at this point to support that level of development.”

With more people and more vehicles — and the community being one way in, one way out — another concern is when an emergency arises, either a flood or fire — similar to what happened in Juniper last summer.

Sun Rivers says the new long-term care facility will provide a more safe second exit from the community.