The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper • www.kelownacapnews.com

SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2010 WEEKEND CLOSE-UP

CYPRESS POINT is a fi ne collection of villas and bungalows overlooking the Black Mountain Golf Course that combines value with lifestyle.

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C E N T R A L O K A N A G A N

S H O W C A S E

Question: Brief-ly give us an overview of Cypress Point Rocky Sethi: Cypress Point is a very fi ne collec-tion of golf course villas and bungalows overlook-ing Black Mountain golf course.

The current homes start at less than $500,000 and feature more than 2,800 square-feet of living space and include hard-wood fl ooring, granite counters, cultured stone fi replaces, large outdoor decks, and much more. Living on one of Kel-owna’s best golf courses, a short 15 minute drive to the Kelowna waterfront, and 40 minutes to Big White means that Cypress Point offers both proxim-ity and value for our buy-ers.Q: Tell us a little about your location and the key amenities in the area. What makes Cypress Point such a great fi t in the Black Mountain golf course community?Sethi: The Black Mountain Golf Course community is designed around the stunning Black Mountain golf course and the future 100-acre lake. There is a cross sec-tion of people within the development and the community as a whole. People have pur-chased homes here be-cause they were look-ing for the Okanagan

CYPRESS POINT

Value and lifestyle the charms of new development

A CYPRESS Point bungalow (top photo); the view overlooking the Black Mountain golf course from a bungalow dining room.

dream of luxury living, access to natural ameni-ties that make Kelowna such a great place to live. Cypress Point’s Black Mountain location also makes Big White very ac-cessible. And there are vari-ous hiking trails and parks nearby. It really is ideal-ly located close to the city while still being, in es-sence, integrated into the more pastoral Okanagan

landscape. Q: What are some of the reasons that people

have chosen to live in the Black Mountain area over other neighborhoods in

Kelowna? Sethi: I think it is val-ue and lifestyle. Today’s

buyer is really looking for value without compro-mise. Our homes feature

some of the lowest dol-lar per square foot costs in the valley, and access to the best amenities that Kelowna has to offer. With all levels of schools, the YMCA, shopping, and restaurants all close by, yet the ability to retreat into a quite ha-ven every night, there are few communities in the Okanagan that can offer the quality of life which is a part of our community. Q: What’s different or unique about Cypress Point over other new, multi-family communi-ties? Why is this impor-tant to home buyers? Sethi: It’s quite sim-ply superior quality and value. Today’s buyers are more aware of what they want, and less willing to pay for what they don’t need. The ability to pur-chase our exceptional-ly fi nished, completed homes today, or custom-ize their home for pos-session before the end of 2010, really speaks to our clients.

The villas at Cypress Point are extremely lux-urious homes, and there are very few comparables for this type of home in the area.Q: Who are your key buyer groups and why are they choosing to live at Cypress Point?

Sethi: We are seeing interest mostly from lo-cals, specifi cally those that live in the immediate area and know the bene-fi ts of living here. In addition, there has been strong interest from the Vancouver area, Al-berta, and even from East-

See Charms B10

Rocky Sethi, regional manager of ROHIT

Communities, talks about new Black Mountain development.

The National Aboriginal Day celebrations were an important event held in Kelowna this past week.

On Monday, local Metis and Westbank First Nation indigenous peoples gathered outside the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Centre on Leon Avenue to showcase their culture, both for aboriginal and non-aboriginal people.

The event attracted a crowd of more than 1,000 and marked the start of the 11-day countdown, with various festivities across the country, leading up to Canada Day on July 1.

Capital News photographer Sean Connor was at the local National Aboriginal Day festivities to help capture some of the colour and pageantry of the event.

See photos/story on A3.

ROD SHEENA, from Merritt, was

among the First Nationsparticipants in the

National Aboriginal Day celebrations held in

Kelowna this past week.

SEAN

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B SECTION • SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2010 • CAPITAL NEWS

SPORTS

CINDY ASPEN/CONTRIBUTOR

THE WATER GREMLINS junior dragon boat team is back on Okanagan Lake practicing for the new season.

A new dragon boat team is making the sport accessible for teens.

Connie Mellaart, vice-president of the Kelowna Dragon Boat Society, said the main focus of the team is not to provide a sport for athletically-inclined teenagers.

She said the junior dragon boat team provides a forum where at-risk kids with social or other chal-lenges can come out to

learn a new sport. She added dragon

boating helps the kids focus on teamwork and camaraderie in a positive and safe environment.

“We do not turn any-one away due to fi nancial limitations, so are focused on fundraising and dona-tions to support the team at festivals and practices.”

Mellaart said the team currently has more than 30 members, and is still

growing. The dragon boat club

fi elds more than 400 members in total of all ages. The teams have performed well in sever-al festivals, and practice a couple of hours per week.

“What comes of it is a strong community that defi es age and social bar-riers, where kids can pad-dle with their grandpar-ents, yet on the water, they are all competitive

equals.”The junior dragon

boat team Water Grem-lins practices Tuesday and Thursday, and is looking for more teens to join. Up-coming festivals the team will compete in are July 10 at Waterfront Park, July 17 in Richmond and Sept. 11 in Penticton. For more information, visit www.watergremlins.com.

msimmons@kelownacapnews.com

▼ WATER SPORT

Teens get turn racing dragon boat

SEAN CONNOR/CAPITAL NEWS

KELOWNA’S Connor McCormack will be a member of Team Canada for the world BMX championships this summer in South Africa.

Mike SimmonsSTAFF REPORTER

A Kelowna rider will take his skills to a dirt track in South Africa this sum-mer for the world cham-pionships of BMX.

Connor McCormack’s placing in last year’s world championships qualifi ed him for this year’s compe-tition. The 17-year-old is balancing an international BMX career with a recent selection for the rookie men’s basketball squad of the UBC Okanagan Heat.

“I’m tired a lot but it’s worth it,” said McCor-mack, pointing out some of his gym training covers the bases for both sports. For BMX, he practices at the Rutland track. The Ke-lowna circuit is the only one easily accessible, but a far cry from the Super-cross tracks McCormack will face during the South African competition.

“The gate is eight metres high as opposed to two and a half metres.”

With a larger drop at the beginning of the course, riders are mov-ing faster on a Supercross track. With more speed comes bigger jumps and wider corners. McCor-mack said BMX tracks are made for everyone, from fi ve-year-old kids to anybody else who wants

to ride.However, “a Super-

cross track is made for elites only,” he said, with most of the jumps across gaps and everything a lot bigger.

A solid showing at the world championships will help McCormack along his way to another goal—making the Canadian Olympic team.

McCormack’s coach Adam Muys works with him on the track, throw-ing in the benefi t of 20 years of riding experience. Muys said McCormack is a very good technical rider and solid over the jumps. “He uses his tall frame to full ability a lot, and he’s able to get through deep sections really well.”

Muys said McCor-mack will ride in the fi rst year of the junior mens age bracket, compet-ing against other 17- and 18-year-olds. He said Mc-Cormack has a shot at do-ing quite well in the com-petition, with two previous years of high-level per-formance. McCormack placed third in world com-petition in Adelaide, Aus-tralia last year and is one of the top fi rst year junior riders.

“It is a bit harder be-cause you’ve got the year above you. He does have a good chance at doing well

and making the fi nal, but this is really a prep year for next year.”

Muys agreed the Supercross tracks require practise. McCormack has ridden the big courses dur-ing previous runs in Chula Vista, California and in Copenhagen. Muys noted riding on the bigger hill is something to learn in it-self, and access to such courses is limited in Brit-ish Columbia. A prospect-ive Supercross track in Abbotsford has yet to se-cure necessary funding.

Prior to the world championships, McCor-mack will stop at an inter-national training centre in Switzerland, where he will have four days to train at a Supercross course.

“There’s quite a bit of extra speed coming off that ramp,” noted Muys. The fi rst jump on the track is usually close to 38 feet, a wide distance but easily traversable with the extra speed.

“There’s a little bit of a fear factor there.”

Muys said riders be-come more comfortable jumping the wide gaps with practise. The 2010 UCI BMX World Cham-pionships will take place July 29 to Aug. 1 in Pieter-maritzburg, South Africa.

msimmons@kelownacapnews.com

BMXer prepares for South Africa world champs

kelownacapnews.com

WESTSIDESUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2010 WEST OF THE BRIDGE

Jason LuciwSTAFF REPORTER

Houseboats will be given the boot from Gel-latly Bay before the end of this summer, according to the District of West Ke-lowna.

Director of building and regulatory services Dave Slobodan told coun-cil this week that his staff has already begun making preparations to serve evic-tion notices.

Between 13 and 18 houseboats are consistent-ly moored in Gellatly Bay and they will be required to leave within the next three to eight weeks, ac-cording to Slobodan.

The municipality is awaiting arrival of a li-cence of occupation for

Gellatly Bay, which would permit the municipality to regulate uses in the bay in place of the provincial government.

“We’ve identifi ed each of those owners of these crafts, so that when we get the licence of occupation, we’re able to notify those owners as quickly as pos-sible,” stated Slobodan.

“Once we have the li-cence of occupation, we have authority under part six of the Land Act so we can then notify those owners and ask them to leave the bay.”

Chief administrative offi cer Jason Johnson said that the licence of occupa-tion should be in the muni-cipality’s hands within the next two to three weeks.

Staff would then be

in a position to post 30-day eviction notices on the crafts and send letters to the owners advising of new moorage restrictions in the bay.

“We wanted to make sure the public was aware of our enforcement strat-egy and perhaps people might want to start com-ing into compliance be-fore the enforcement strat-egy comes into place next month,” said Johnson.

It’s not just houseboats that will be required to move, mentioned Slobo-dan.

“We’re actually look-ing at all the vessels in Gellatly Bay.”

That means upland property owners living on Angus Drive would also be prohibi permanently

mooring their vessels, like speedboats or sailboats, in the bay.

Commercial vessels moored in the bay would also be required to leave, Slobodan stated.

“If the vessels are not removed within 30 days we do have contact with a towing company that has the ability to move them out. Owners will then have another 30 days to claim their vessels,” Slo-bodan noted.

Boat owners would be required to pay towing and storage costs to reclaim their boats, he noted.

The municipality plans to place signage at the Gellatly Bay boat launch and other locations around the bay, advising that overnight and perma-

nent moorage would be prohibited, said Slobodan.

Moorage buoys are also going to be removed from the bay, he noted.

“We will ask for those buoys to be removed with the houseboats or the ves-sels. The ones that aren’t removed, staff will put a strategy together to re-move those.”

Staff will then put together a strategy to add municipal buoys to Gel-latly Bay to be used for temporary moorage only.

“For people coming in for the day to just dock their boat and spend time in Gellatly Bay.

“Temporary moorage, in our defi nition, is not overnight––you can’t stay overnight.”

Bylaw services will

be constantly monitoring of the bay to ensure com-pliance, the municipality stated.

The municipality has been trying to prohibit houseboat moorage in Gellatly Bay since Octo-ber 2008 when residents living on land overlooking the bay complained that the vessels were a blight on the landscape, ruining their lake views and the public’s enjoyment of the waterfront.

Some residents also feared that people who were living permanently on some of the boats were dumping effl uent into Okanagan Lake, allega-tions which boat owners have denied.

jluciw@kelownacapnews.com

▼ GELLATLY BAY

Houseboats fl oating on borrowed time

The District of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation signed a new agreement this month that will see the two gov-ernments jointly manage Gellatly Bay.

Both governments have agreed to respect each other’s jurisdiction and interest in the protec-tion of Okanagan Lake, its foreshore and Gellatly Bay in particular.

By signing the binding joint management agree-ment, both council’s have committed that manage-ment of Gellatly Bay will be carried out through a joint management com-mittee established under the agreement.

It will be comprised of two representatives from each government.

The committee of four will consider and recom-mend policies regarding the public and private use of Gellatly Bay, under the water use-recreation-al zone, which West Ke-lowna has already estab-lished for the area. This zone prohibits moorage of fl oating residential struc-tures, such as houseboats, boat houses and boat shel-ters and only allows tem-porary boat moorage ac-cessory to the use of the immediately abutting up-land parcel.

“This is another tre-mendous step forward for the District of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation as we con-tinue to recognize that we are more than just neigh-bours,” said West Kelow-na Mayor Doug Findlater.

“Our interests, assets and goals are so often inter-laced and West Ke-

DWK,WFN, team up to lookafter Bay

HOUSEBOAT owners with boats on Gellatly Bay are expected to start receiving eviction notices later this summer.

SEAN CONNOR/CAPITAL NEWS

See WFN, DWK C5

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