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Can I, or can't I, stroll the boardwalk in front of Boucherie Beach Cottages?
That is the question.
"We tell people they can walk on that walkway. It's part of the public right of way," said Ruth Hanbury, general manager at Frind Winery, which is next door to Boucherie Beach Cottages.
However, numerous signs have been posted along the boardwalk and on the beach to the contrary.
Two sandwich board signs, one in each direction, have been placed along the boardwalk reading: Boardwalk and beach are private property. No trespassing.
There are also signs posted in the sand closer to the water saying the beach is for residents only.
Presumably the signs have been put up by the Boucherie Beach Cottages strata association.
KelownaNow.com attempted to contact the strata president through Associated Property Management with no luck.
Hanbury admitted Boucherie Beach Cottages' strata "aren't the biggest fans of Frind."
The busy winery is attracting people to use the boardwalk who like to park at Aberdeen Park and stroll in front of Boucherie Beach Cottages to Frind.
Frind is also located on the beach on Okanagan Lake and encourages people to wander its property.
Frind also provides a path extension for people on foot to access Pritchard Drive.
"A lot of people are wondering about this," said Hanbury.
"The public can use that boardwalk."
The City of West Kelowna's bylaw department has been notified of the dispute and is looking into it.
"I am told the walkway in front of the beach has both public and private boundaries that are being reviewed as the property line in respect to the walkway is not a continuous straight line in that area," said City of West Kelowna communications supervisor Jason Luciw in an email.
Generally, waterfront land can be private, but there also tends be a public right of way close to the water.
"We are working directly with property owners in the Pritchard-West/Green Bay area to review public/private access and signs," continued Luciw.
"Access along this stretch varies between private, city and right of way functionality and we are continuing to work through the challenges and opportunities with local property owners fronting the lake."
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