The Simpson Covenant
Our purpose in coming before you today is to let you know of the existence and terms of covenants signed by the City of
Kelowna in 1946 and 1949, on the civic centre lands – that is, those lands bounded by Ellis Street in the East, Okanagan Lake
to the west, Doyle Avenue to the north, Mill Street – now Queensway – to the south, plus certain lands in the area of Kerry
Park.
Previous Mayors and Council agreed to, signed, and endorsed these covenants and subsequent bylaws – which I will refer to
as the Simpson Covenants - and we believe today’s Mayor and Council must do likewise. We believe they must respect not
only the legal obligations of those agreements, but also the moral obligation of the agreement signed by their predecessors.
Beyond the legal issue is the spirit and intent inherent in these agreements as they clearly embody Stan Simpson’s vision and
wish to preserve these lands in municipal ownership – forever – for the use and enjoyment of the citizens of Kelowna.
The information about the Simpson Covenant is historical. The original covenant was signed by Mayor Jim Pettigrew in 1946,
and deals with the land on which city hall, the museum, and Memorial Arena are currently situated. As well, it includes land
across Water Street - the location of Kelowna’s proposed Centennial Park, the adjacent parking lots, as well as the land
occupied by the Kelowna Yacht Club. In a 1949 land transfer, other lands in the area of Kerry Park also were covered by the
same restrictions.
I’d like to give you some background as to how this land came to be covered by the Simpson Covenant.
Stanley M. Simpson was a businessman in Kelowna from 1913 until his death in 1959. His generation took their civic
responsibility seriously and Kelowna has benefited considerably from the generosity of some of its early pioneers, Stan among
them. He sold the land now recognized at the civic centre lands to the City in 1946 and attached certain covenants to these
lands as part of the less-than-market price the city paid for them. Upon his death, Stan also left a trust to the City which
recently provided the funds for the construction of the new Pioneer Pavilion and surrounding buildings at the top of Knox
Mountain. In recognition of his leadership and generosity, the City of Kelowna granted Stan Simpson the Freedom of the City
in 1957.
At the end of the 1800s, Bernard Lequime built a sawmill at the foot of Bernard Avenue and later sold it to David Lloyd-Jones.
The sawmill and wharves spread from the entrance to City Park, along the lakeshore to about where the Senior’s Centre is
today, eastward to Ellis Street, along Ellis to Queensway (previously Mill Avenue), and west on Queensway back to the lakeshore.
Lloyd-Jones sold the sawmill and property to Stan Simpson in 1942. In 1944, the Kelowna Saw Mill was destroyed by fire. Stan
chose not to rebuild the operation and instead developed plans to build a state-of-the-art retail building-supply outlet at the
foot of Pandosy Street, about where the Bennett Clock is currently located.
For several years prior to this, many of Kelowna’s leading citizens had been lobbying city council to create a civic centre for the
growing community and build an appropriate city hall – council meetings had been held in rooms above Loane’s Hardware –
the current site of the Hong Kong Bank – and by December of 1944 a citizen’s committee recommended the purchase of the
Kelowna Saw Mill’s 7.52 acres between Water and Ellis Streets and Doyle and what has become Queensway Avenue. Various
civic buildings were proposed for the site and plans were made to build City Hall at the foot of Pandosy, where Stan had
earlier planned to build his retail outlet.
Stan, on behalf of the Kelowna Saw Mill, agreed to sell this parcel of land to the City for $30,000. The City acknowledged this
price to be substantially below market value and agreed to restrict its use to civic purposes. To ensure that these lands would
continue to be used by and for the community, Stan placed a restrictive covenant on the property which stated that the lands
could not be sold, that they be used for community purposes, and for the use and enjoyment of its citizens. He also stipulated
that buildings be set in appropriately landscaped park-like surroundings.
Prior to the purchase being finalized, another citizen’s group felt there was also an opportunity to purchase the additional 4.2
acre parcel of sawmill land that ran along the lakeshore, directly across Water Street from the first parcel – for an additional
$25,000. This additional parcel of land ran from the location of the Willow Lodge (across from the current Willow Inn), to the
city’s power house, near the present-day Yacht Club.
The total cost of the 11.72 acres was $55,000 – about what it cost Stan to clean up the fire debris and accumulated waste
from a half century of sawmilling.
The purchase was taken to referendum and overwhelmingly supported by 90% of the voters.
Town planning experts from St. Louis, Missouri, were called in to advise council on the development of the site and by August
1945, Council decided to retain all the property. The planners noted that Kelowna held a unique position overlooking
Okanagan Lake and with careful planning it could become one of the most beautiful cities in North America. They further noted
that by “connecting City Park to the new civic area, Kelowna would have one of the most outstanding (and accessible)
waterfronts on the continent.
In the December 1945 civic election, in addition to approving the purchase of the 11.72 acres for the agreed-upon $55,000, a
further expenditure of $60,000 was approved to purchase 12 privately-owned lots on Mill Avenue (covering less than 2 acres),
part of which were added to the civic site while the remaining portions were used to widened Queensway.
Memorial Arena was the first building completed and opened on November 11, 1948 and the new City Hall was officially opened
December 18, 1950. A number of other buildings have also been built on this site and subsequently demolished, including a
curling rink, library, health unit, and most recently, the Provincial Court House.
In 1949, Bylaw 1449 was signed by Mayor Jack Ladd in which 2.4 acres of land across from City Hall were exchanged with
the Provincial Government in anticipation of construction of the Court House. The exchanged land is identified in the vicinity
of Kerry Park. The bylaw stipulated that this land could also not be sold, used for commercial purposes, and should be suitably
landscaped.
In 1955, Council granted a private company an option to purchase a 130 foot frontage on Bernard Ave for a proposed
$700,000 hotel. This was part of the land transferred to the city from the province, and while Stan was in hospital at the time
recovering from a stroke, he wrote to Mayor Ladd that this arrangement violated the terms of the bylaw which the city had
agreed to when the land was transferred to them. This letter is on file.
Stan also referred to an earlier attempt by the curling club to obtain title to the property on the corner of Water Street and
Doyle Avenue where it had recently built a new rink. Stan had not agreed to that transfer – confirming that the title of the land
should remain with the city – and we believe a similar agreement also covers the land on which the Kelowna Yacht Club is
situated.
These precedents are on record and underline and we believe, confirm that the covenant signed by the City of Kelowna in
1946, plus the 1949 bylaw, stipulate that these lands were purchased with the clear understanding that they would be \
retained in city ownership, not used for commercial purposes, and would be maintained for the use and enjoyment of all
citizens of this community remain in effect. The terms “Forever” and “For all time” appear frequently in the bylaws and
affidavits referring to these agreements.
All the foregoing information brings us to the development proposal that will soon come before council. The process has begun
as the development company has already appeared before the Advisory Planning Commission (APC). Their next step is to
apply to City Hall for the rezoning of these lands and then on to a public hearing. We believe that a number of these building –
if constructed as initially proposed – substantially encroach on property covered both by the Simpson Covenant and
subsequent agreements.
The Simpson family strongly opposes this – or any other – encroachment on these lands and believes that the sale of these
civic lands – or even a long term lease – plus the proposed commercial use of this land, substantially violates the terms of the
Covenant which previous Mayors and their councils fully understood and agreed to.
We also believe that Stan Simpson has left a very clear record of his intentions when he agreed to the original sale of the civic
centre properties and subsequent variations to it. The citizens of the day approved the purchase of these lands – by
referendum – expecting they would remain, for all time, in the public domain.
The issue of encroaching on these covenanted lands recurs every few year, as does the issue of the right of the Kelowna
Yacht Club to remain in its present location. The Simpson family strongly believes that today’s City Council must recognize that
their ownership of these lands – with the Covenants and restrictions attached thereto – are an enormous asset in this
fast-changing community.
We also believe that the Simpson family and the taxpayers have a right to expect these agreements will be maintained and
enforced, and that Council and civic staff will be informed and respectful of them into the future.
This land is not just real estate – it is a legacy left to the citizens of this community and must be honoured as such. The parking
lots are an unapproved commercial use of the land and need to be removed and ALL the lands within the Covenant areas
need to revert to their originally intended use – that is, either parkland or other municipal uses.
Signed
Rhoda (Simpson) Moss and Sharron Simpson on behalf of the Simpson Family.