Innerspace operations at Kal Beach (photo courtesy of Innerspace Watersports / Facebook)

By Liam Verster

Paddleboards, kayaks

Innerspace operations come to end at Kal Beach

Apr 4, 2022 | 1:00 PM

Innerspace Watersports will no longer be operating out of Kal Beach.

The Vernon-based company had previously rented paddleboards, kayaks and other water sports equipment to people at the beach, but Chief Administration Officer for the District of Coldstream, Trevor Seibel, told Vernon Matters that Innerspace had been providing their services without the proper license.

“Innerspace Dive and Kayak did not have a valid license to operate on the beach. They did have a business license that had been issued incorrectly in previous years,” said Seibel.

“So last year, after council had discussed the head of the lake planning process, the decision was made to curtail any commercial activities on the beach, except for the concession, until such time as the planning excercise was completed, in order to assess future uses and activities on the beach.”

He added the district discovered the watersports rentals provider did not have a valid license of occupation for the beach during the regional parks and recreation restructuring process.

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Seibel told Vernon Matters that, due to those reasons, Coldstream informed Innerspace last year that the business license would not be renewed in 2022. He also noted that council decided to not grant Innerspace an exception despite them operating at the beach for many years, saying “when you [grant an exemption] for one, you end up doing it for everybody.”

The CAO also stated the municipality has to take into consideration the limited space available at Kal Beach, both for vehicle parking, pedestrian access, and allowed activities.

“Technically, with the license we have for the swimming area, paddleboards are not allowed to be in the swimming area,” said Seibel.

“Part of the problem with having those activities going through the swimming area is if somebody gets hurt there could be problems.”

Coldstream is working with the Regional District of North Okanagan to establish a proper paddleboard corridor on Kalamalka Lake, but that work is still underway.

Seibel added that Coldstream’s council has approved the terms of reference for the head of the lake plan. Work is underway to develop the next phase, which involves public consultation, and is tentatively set for May through July.

“So we’re working on survey information, questions, feedback, all that sort of stuff, to gauge what people would and would not like to see at the beach in terms of amenities and services and those sorts of things,” Seibel explained.

“Obviously it’s a very limited area surrounded by residential properties, so there’s a lot of factors that have to play into traffic management and that sort of stuff as well.”

RELATED: Innerspace owner upset with Coldstream pulling Kal Beach license