Kelowna will soon be home to a unique animal rehab center. The nonprofit Wild Things Rehabilitation Center has been given the go-ahead by the city council to use a small piece of forested property on O’Reilly Street for the clinic. Council approved the request despite objections from planning staff who said they were not opposed to the use itself but rather to the land use. “It’s not what the staff object to, it’s the location where they want to put the building,” said planner Dean Strachan. “What we were trying to do was direct the requester to a location on the website that has already been tampered with or modified.” However, the municipality said the positive benefits far outweighed any negative impacts or concerns of some local residents. Wild Things founder Sydney Platz told the city council the property is ideal for their purposes. “We had researched Kelowna and gone outside the city limits to look for properties like this…we want it as wooded and natural as possible to be hidden from the public but still accessible so we can get to the wild life and get them in time,” Platts said. “When we saw this property…it’s perfect for our needs because you can’t see it from the road. It’s completely wooded on the outside and perfect for wildlife restoration.” Platz says people won’t bring animals to the clinic, but rather trained staff and volunteers will rescue the animals. The center will mainly treat small animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, marmots and birds. Any larger animals such as deer or coyotes will be referred to other addiction offices throughout the county. The property on O’Reilly Road is owned by Maria and William Kitsch, who will provide the property to the center free of charge for five years, renewable for another five years.
