A trail along the waterfront at Boucherie Beach Resort in West Kelowna. The city won an order in court that will open it to the public. The city of West Kelowna won the first round of a legal battle against the Boucherie Beach Resort over a runway on the waterfront. Following a hearing earlier this month, a judge of the Supreme Court of BC. issued a temporary order to the municipality ordering the mattresses to unlock the gates blocking the trail and to remove any signs indicating that the trail is not public. When the city of West Kelowna in 2013 approved the remodeling associated with the development of Boucherie Beach Cottages, it included an agreement securing a public walkway along the waterfront. Around the same time, the city had begun a long-term plan for a coastal path that stretches from Peachland to the Bennett Bridge. The right of way for the trail will be acquired through development agreements such as the one at Boucherie Beach Resort. The developer built the trail in 2014 and because it was not connected to the north or south, it was little used by the public. Things changed with the development of Frind Winery directly south and the Paradise Estates townhome project in the north. In 2020, Frind Winery removed the large fence separating the two properties. According to court documents, the Boucherie beach mats reported an immediate increase of several hundred, often drunk, pedestrians during the summer. Residents complained about the increase in the violation of private amenities such as the swimming pool and the pier. In response, the mattresses erected gates that closed the path and signs that declared it privately owned. They also refused to consent to a city registration for a legal right of way for the trail. In April 2021, the city of West Kelowna sued the layers over the issue. The matter has not yet been adjudicated, but the city managed last week to receive an interim injunction by then. The mattresses argued in court that it did not yet exist when the agreement between the builder and the municipality was reached and claimed that the trail-related agreement has now expired. In his decision to issue the order, Judge Gary P. Weatherill noted that the public had uninterrupted access to the trail for seven years before the gates were opened. It was also ruled that the mattresses would not exist if there was no agreement between the developer and the city on the trail, which was the key to allowing the restructuring. The mattresses now have until July 1st to hand over to the city the keys to the gate that blocks the path and to download any signs that indicate it is private. It is not known when the case will go to trial.
