Kelowna Coun. Loyal Wooldridge was underwhelmed with the concept plans to develop the former Tolko Mill site when they were presented at councilsa国际传媒檚 Sep. 25 meeting.

sa国际传媒淭he mill site is the last jewel in Kelowna that wesa国际传媒檙e going to be developing on the lakefront,sa国际传媒� Wooldridge said.

sa国际传媒淔rom the beginning, my expectation has been for the design team to come forward with an astounding, beautiful public access that is going to enhance the quality of life for people in Kelowna.sa国际传媒�

Wooldridge noted that only three to four hectares of the 20-hectare development is dedicated to public open spaces.

sa国际传媒淲hat I saw was a sea of towers and a lot of developable area which means a lot of money for the property owner, but it doesnsa国际传媒檛 necessarily mean improved quality of life.sa国际传媒�

Wooldridge said he would like to see free, accessible public space that creates equity in the community.

sa国际传媒淚 think when you look at our pathways around the lake, whether itsa国际传媒檚 Sutherland Bay or the bird sanctuaries, itsa国际传媒檚 open space where people can interact with nature and connect with one another and you donsa国际传媒檛 have to necessarily have to pay to do it.sa国际传媒�

Affordable housing, which is included in the three concept plans presented by Holar Developments, is also a concern for Wooldridge.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not lost on me that the likelihood of below-market housing on that site is going to be achieved because it is probably going to be some of the most prime property that we see.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淏ut we can definitely leverage that for our affordable housing land acquisition fund which could potentially build in the North End itself.sa国际传媒�

Wooldridge added there is also a need for caution regarding infrastructure demands with the level of density proposed for the site.

Concept plans recommend 3,500 residential units including affordable housing and spaces for seniors and students.

sa国际传媒淭hat means through the North End in general we might have to have a lower amount of density outside of what we see on the mill site,sa国际传媒� Wooldridge said.

He added he felt the design team could do better.

sa国际传媒淭hese are first concepts which are really testing the waters to see what council and what the public is going to say.sa国际传媒�

Holar Developments will be hosting open houses, including one at the Laurel Packinghouse on Oct. 26, as well as online engagement to gather public feedback on the concepts.

The concept plans can be viewed on the .

READ MORE: Kelowna council highlights communitysa国际传媒檚 top needs at UBCM

READ MORE: Evacuation alerts lifted, orders downgraded for Peachland wildfire