The City of Âé¶čAV is suing a local hotel for blocking public access to a popular boardwalk.
In 2000, Hotel Eldoradoâs previous owners agreed to a perpetual public right-of-way on the promenade along Okanagan Lake during daylight hours. In exchange, the city allowed the resort to build a boat fuelling facility.
According to the city, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last spring, Hotel Eldorado closed the boardwalkâs gate, breaching the agreement.
The city states the hotel closed the walkway due to public health concerns and âpotential COVID-19 transmission allegedly posed by the proximity of the public passing along the perpetual right-of-way to food and beverage staff and patrons.â The city claims those concerns are not justifiable.
âThe city has kept other public paths and walkways open and accessible while complying with all COVID-19 related orders and guidelines of the provincial health officer and Minister of Public Safety throughout the COVID pandemic,â reads the cityâs lawsuit filed in BC Supreme Court last week.
The city is seeking an order from the court mandating the hotel keeps the gate open between sunrise and sunset and for the hotel to pay the cityâs incurred costs.
None of the cityâs claims have been tested in court. Hotel ownership has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
The Âé¶čAV has reached out to Argus Properties Ltd., the company that owns the hotel, for comment.
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