OROVILLE – The Oroville City Council has approved a permit request by Sundalia Resort to build a dock along their shoreline, albeit a somewhat shorter dock than the developer wanted.

At their Tuesday, April 5 meeting, the council approved Sundalia’s request, but with a 40 foot section taken off their 207-foot dock proposal,” said Community Development Director Chris Branch. “The dock will now be a maximum of 167 feet. They can appeal the decision if they chose to however.”

The proposal now goes to the state Department of Ecology to see if they have any objection to the permit, according to Branch. Ecology will also have the final say on the boatlift proposed by the townhouse developer.

After rejecting the development’s original request at the council’s Tuesday, March 30 meeting, the council sent the dock proposal back to the planning commission with a request to try and add three conditions – protection of recreational use of the lake by others, stopping the spread of milfoil and guarding against fuel spills. These new provisions would be in addition to the ten conditions already placed on the 207-foot dock by the planning commission.

“At their last meeting, the planning commission felt that they really couldn’t do anything to prevent the spread of milfoil, it’s a widespread problem that really is a state issue,” said Branch. “To protect against fuel spills the developer will be required to post instructions on how to use fuel clean up kits required on the dock.”

In order to help minimize the impact on other people using Lake Osoyoos for recreation the planning commission suggested rearranging the way boaters approached the T-shaped dock. This, however, was rejected by the council in favor of making the dock shorter.

“It was felt that this would allow for more room for slalom skiers and other lake users,” said Branch.

The other conditions on the dock include:

• Obtaining DNR lease approval prior to dock installation.

• Making sure the boatlift meets or exceeds industry standards.

• Storage of the dock in the off-season in a location not already designated for other uses like fire separation yards, parking, riparian and/or aquatic buffers and amenities.

• Safety markings such as reflectors and lights

• Maintaining the dock to be attractive and functional

• No “live-aboard,” covered moorage, moorage rental or boat launch

• Signage on the dock shall not “imitate, closely resemble, confuse or obstruct visibility or interpretation of an official navigation sign, signal or similar device.”

• The initial dock permit shall be valid for a period of one year after which the permit shall be renewed, but the conditions of approval may be adjusted based upon an evaluation regarding the dock’s length and season of use and opportunities to conduct operations that may provide compatibility for other recreational users of the lake in the immediate vicinity (i.e. slalom skiers).