Eldorado opens the gate
Photo: Kirk Penton
A controversial door at the center of a lawsuit between the City of Kelowna and Eldorado Resort is now open.
The lawsuit was filed by the city in the spring of 2021. It alleges the hotel is in violation of a 22-year-old agreement between the city and the hotel’s former owner that “registers a statutory right-of-way in favor of the city for public access along on the shores of Lake Okanagan”.
Public access to the boardwalk at the resort was to be maintained between sunrise and sunset.
The city claims that this access was denied when the hotel locked the gate at the south end of the roadway in early 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of the roadway passes in close proximity to the hotel’s outdoor restaurants.
A temporary solution that came out last fall allowed access to remain closed only during the hours the restaurant is open.
The city recently applied for and received an update based on changing conditions.
In a statement this week to Castanet, Eldorado Resort general manager Mark Jeans said the hotel did not dispute this latest claim.
“We will comply with the court’s decision, as we have done throughout this process. We have always only cared about meeting WorkSafeBC requirements and the health and safety of our guests, staff and members of the general public,” said Jeans.
“The outstanding issues between the city and the Eldorado Hotel will be resolved in a lawsuit that we expect to take place in the fall,” he adds.
The city of Kelowna also issued a statement.
“As one of our most important public amenities, the City of Kelowna continues to advocate for and protect the integrity of public access rights along Okanagan Lake. Accordingly, the City is satisfied with the latest court order requiring the Eldorado Hotel to (during daylight hours) open the gate that was previously used to restrict public access through the City’s legal right-of-way along the boardwalk.”
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