Council Connect

By Mayor Tom Dyas

The past few months have seen immense change affecting countless municipalities due to the new sweeping legislative changes happening at the provincial level. As council, we’ve witnessed and heard from residents that have become increasingly concerned about how the City will navigate these changes, all of which have significant impacts on our community. One specific concern, which centres on communicating with the City, is the prohibition of public hearings for rezonings if the development proposal is in alignment with the City’s Official Community Plan.  

This is a valid and understandable concern. For Council, transparency and accountability are cornerstones for how we make decisions, and it is important that Kelowna’s residents are not only informed, but also have a multitude of channels to have their voices heard. It is necessary that every resident have access to information and have the opportunity, through a variety of channels, to share their opinions, ideas and feedback.

Although public hearings will no longer include routine rezoning applications, this form of engagement only represents a small fraction of the ways citizens engage with us and City staff. We welcome ideas, concerns, and feedback as it helps shape the decisions that impact our city's future.

Get all the information you need in real-time.

The City's website, Kelowna.ca, is a central hub of information, resources, news, events, and more. From accessing important documents like the Official Community Plan to learning about upcoming events and initiatives, the website is a constantly updated wealth of information for residents, businesses, and visitors to the area. In 2023 the site garnered over 8.7 million page views, a number that continues to grow year over year.

To enhance citizens’ experience on our website, we are harnessing the power of technology and AI to make it easier for you to find the information you need. Whether you have questions about city services, event schedules, or municipal regulations, our virtual assistants are available 24/7 to provide prompt and helpful responses in real time.

Let us know about an issue, ask a question, or report a concern.

The City has an online service request portal to make it easier for citizens to request city services when it’s most convenient for you. You can find it on the Kelowna.ca homepage right below the main image banner. This makes creating service request a convenient and quick solution and allows appropriate staff and teams to address the issue or concern directly. Whether it's reporting a pothole, requesting a recycling bin, requesting bylaw, or submitting a noise complaint, our dedicated city staff work diligently to address these requests promptly, ensuring that our city remains clean, safe, and well-maintained.

Give the City your feedback on current and upcoming projects and initiatives.

Engaged communities are strong communities. We know that all our decisions are improved through open and transparent processes, and through the input of citizens and stakeholders. The City’s current, upcoming, and past engagement opportunities can all be found online at getinvolved.kelowna.ca.  This central website serves as a virtual town square where residents can participate in discussions, share ideas, and provide feedback on various city projects and initiatives. From community planning initiatives to transportation projects, your input matters, and we encourage you to join the conversation.

The Citizen Survey is another avenue for engagement that the City uses. It is a statistically valid survey conducted every two years and is a tool for Council to understand our citizen’s priorities and understand satisfaction levels with municipal programs and services. The insights gained by this research help us make important decisions regarding planning, budgeting and service improvements.

Stay up to date on news, events, and programs that the City is leading or involved with.

The City of Kelowna's social media channels provide real-time updates on city news, events, and initiatives. Whether you are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Youtube or LinkedIn, you can stay informed and engaged with our city's programs, initiatives and activities while connecting with fellow residents and City departments directly.

You can also receive City updates and news directly to your inbox via the City’s e-newsletters, which provide a quick and convenient way to stay informed about city news releases, events, development applications and opportunities for engagement. By subscribing, you'll never miss out on important updates from City Hall, ensuring that you're always in the loop about what's happening in our city. I encourage residents to join the City Views subscriber list for a monthly update on upcoming news and events.

Connect with Council.

There are also many avenues and channels available to residents to connect with Council directly. My colleagues on Council and I are here to serve as your elected representatives and advocates, and we value your input and encourage you to reach out to us. You can do so through a variety of ways:

• You can attend a Council meeting, whether that be in person or virtually via the live broadcast available at Kelowna.ca/council.
• Email Councillors individually through their direct email addresses.
• Email Mayorandcouncil@kelowna.ca with your concern, idea, or request. This email is accessible to all of Council and I can respond to questions directly as a representative of Council.
• Requesting to present to Council as a delegation by contacting Clerks at clerks@kelowna.ca.
• Reading this monthly Column, Council Connect, which offers an inside look into Council decisions and more.
• We have also been invited to be present at future Neighbourhood Association meetings, where I have invited all of Council to attend. This will be a new setting where residents can have face time with Councillors, meet them in person, express their concerns, and offer their ideas.

As elected officials, we are here to listen to your needs and concerns. We know that technologies will continue to evolve and change, and that new channels will arise. Our promise is to continue to adapt to ensure transparency and accountability through all the work we do.

By Mayor Tom Dyas

Happy New Year, Kelowna! As we usher in 2024, I would like to reflect on my exciting first year as your mayor and the journey we have undertaken together. While the path toward progress is ongoing and the work is continual, I am filled with optimism and enthusiasm for the new year and future of our beautiful city.

We have taken some significant steps forward as a community. And thanks to the contributions, support, and hard work of my council colleagues, residents, staff, community partners, other levels of government, and the local business community, we can collectively take pride in our accomplishments which have laid the foundation for a bright year ahead.

As we wrap up the year, I want to share with you some 2023 projects that especially stand out to me that I believe will have some of the most significant impacts for our community.

The introduction of the one per cent community safety levy, which has been instrumental in our ability to fund 31 new RCMP and 11 bylaw officers and other safety related positions for 2023 and 2024; I also want to thank Kelowna RCMP for their incredible work over the past year. Their latest report (January 1 to August 31) noted a 43.9 per cent decline in business break and enter, 40.8 per cent decrease in auto theft, 38.7 per cent decrease in bike theft, 30.6 per cent reduction in theft from a motor vehicle, and 10.7 per cent decrease in residential break and enter.

An agreement, under the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), will provide $31.5 million in federal funding to eliminate barriers to building the housing we need faster. The memorandum of understanding with the Province of B.C. formalizes our commitment to work together to better support people who are unhoused.  Work is underway to open 120 new units on both Crowley Ave and Highway 97.  In addition, the City is in the process of identifying a possible future third site that could accommodate another potential 60 units. 

Council is pleased the City will take a more active role working with local social-serving sector organizations and other partners to address current and emerging complex social issues in 2024.  The Social Development team, approved by Council in the 2024 budget, will increase the focus on long-term upstream prevention of the flow into homelessness, and will support initiatives that address broader housing needs, advance social wellness advocacy, and expand partnership opportunities.

Establishing the 13-member Mayor’s Task Force on Crime Reduction was also very important to me. As chair, I’d like to thank the community stakeholders who have committed their time and expertise to help develop community-driven initiatives to reduce crime in Kelowna.

I’m also happy to see the many important infrastructure and community projects advanced in 2023, including the YLW terminal expansion; waterfront park in the Pandosy town centre as well as the Strathcona, DeHart, Truswell land acquisition, Ballou and Glenmore parks projects; indoor recreation facility strategy; North End Plan; and bike valet program.

With funding approval in place, 2023 also brought the commencement of the Building a Stronger Kelowna legacy project that will see the construction of two new activity centres for all-ages in Mission and Glenmore, enhanced sports fields in Rutland, the redevelopment of Parkinson Recreation Centre, and further development of community partnership opportunities with key partners such as Okanagan College and UBCO.

A major highlight of the year for me were the results of our advocacy work. The City has been a leading advocate, in collaboration with other B.C. Municipalities, responding to the Province’s illicit drug decriminalization pilot project. Local governments are requesting that  playgrounds, spray and wading pools, and skate parks be added to the province’s list of areas where possession of illicit drugs is banned (including within six metres of all building entrances and bus stops and within all parks, beaches and sports fields).  With the legislation related to exemptions are now on hold due to a B.C. Supreme Court ruling last week, we will continue our advocacy efforts.

The City also continues to advocate to Interior Health to deliver more and better access to substance use treatments, supports and complex care housing in conjunction with decriminalization, and appropriate levels of consequence for repeat property and violent offenders. Kelowna has been a leading voice for bail reforms to address repeat offending including through our Community Confidence in Justice Advocacy Paper.

Our grant and advocacy work also resulted in significant investment in 2023 from senior levels of government, including over $26 million, through the BC Growing Communities Fund, for infrastructure to support our fast-growing community; $28.5 million in funding to support the addition of 359 much needed childcare spaces in our community; and investments and recognition for ecological restoration and fuel management in the face of this summer’s unprecedented Grouse Complex wildfire.

In addition to funding for the Island Stage rejuvenation, Kelowna also received significant funding to improve, grow and start electrifying regional transit service through upgrades to the current transit facility, transit exchanges and prep for a new transit operations centre. The total project costs are $29.3 million, with senior levels of government contributing the majority of the funding to BC Transit through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) to advance the work.

Other 2023 highlights include helping to facilitate a permanent home for the Kelowna Famers’ and Crafters’ Market; completing Kelowna’s housing needs assessment; advancing 2200 new rental and for-purchase housing units in the community; and record-breaking building permit construction value, which was up approximately 46 per cent from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $1.76 billion in 2023. We also welcomed some exciting events including the Pan Continental Curling Championships, the BreakOut West music festival, and were named host of Curling Canada’s 2025 Brier.

While there is much to celebrate from last year, we also recognize have a lot of work to do. Holding us accountable for the strategic shifts, improvements and changes you want to see is an important part of local government and why we have introduced things like a lobbyist registry and code of conduct for Council; six-month Council priority progress reporting; and a financial health dashboard to show how the city is performing financially year-to-year and how prepared it is to meet future obligations.

Transparency and listening to residents on matters that are important to them, such as Kelowna Springs Golf and Country Club, the creation of the Community Task Force for Performing Arts, and the implementation of value-added audits are an essential part of the democratic process. Your engagement, feedback, and enthusiasm through channels, such as getinvolved.kelowna.ca and Council correspondence, help Council make the decisions that support a high quality of life. I encourage you to visit kelowna.ca/council to view the latest public progress report, including details on the 80 Council priority actions undertaken in the last year.

As we reflect on the past year, as our strength and resiliency has been tested, it is crucial to recognize that this progress would not have been possible without the active participation and support of our residents.

On the cusp of a new year, I am excited to see what we can achieve together in the next 12 months. I invite you to join me and all of council in making our city the best it can be. Together, we can make our city a place where everyone thrives and belongs.

By Mayor Tom Dyas

I want to take a moment to reflect on the summer we experienced and the incredible teamwork and dedication we saw throughout our region during the wildfires.

The collaboration between municipal fire departments, BC Wildfire Service, local governments and thousands of volunteers was inspiring and I am very thankful for everyone’s service to our region.

It is going to take a similar spirit of prolonged teamwork and collaboration to combat the root cause of the wildfires and floods our region has experienced over the past several years.

Local and regional governments influence approximately 50 per cent of the nation’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so we are intent on trying to influence our community’s shift toward a low-carbon lifestyle and respond effectively to climate impacts.

The City of Kelowna’s actions have always focused on doing what we can to mitigate factors contributing to climate change along with making adaptations to limit the effects of climate change.

As the City’s current five-year Community Climate Action Plan reaches the end of its life, staff are in the process of developing the next phase of a Climate Resilient Kelowna Strategy that will map out plans to reduce our carbon footprint and continue the process of rebuilding our city in a more sustainable way. That strategy is expected to be completed early in 2024.  

We know that we must continue to provide options to help Kelowna residents reduce GHG emissions.

Along with promoting healthy lifestyles, the City has invested heavily in Active Transportation Corridors and encouraged other modes of travelling around our city in ways that reduce GHG emissions – walking, cycling, scooters, electric bikes, transit and supporting the use of ride sharing opportunities.

At the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Vancouver, I met with Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming to discuss progress on a new transit operation centre, which we need to expand and improve local transit service. The City of Kelowna will benefit from $9 million in senior government funding that will see upgrades at our current transit facility for service expansion and initial electric battery procurement for buses. In addition, funding will help advance the design of the new transit operations centre that will allow expanded transit service and the electrification of the entire fleet over time.

Decarbonizing new and existing buildings has also been a major component in meeting the City’s GHG emissions reduction targets. The 50-year-old Parkinson Recreation Centre, for example, is one of the largest emitters of GHG among all City of Kelowna properties, and we expect the new facility to be a net-zero carbon building. We are also developing an energy concierge pilot program to support homeowners through what can be a complicated home energy retrofit journey.

In 2018, YLW became carbon accredited through Airports Council International (ACI) and its Carbon Accreditation program. As part of the ongoing program, in June 2022, YLW received Level 2 Carbon Accreditation from ACI, gaining recognition of our efforts to measure and reduce our GHG emissions. We are currently working on a plan to further reduce energy consumption and to meet our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

The City has a Strategic Energy Management Plan that is targeting a GHG emissions reduction of 40 per cent below 2007 levels by 2030 for all corporate facilities and will implement equipment upgrades accordingly.

Current actions to reduce GHG emissions include:

• Focusing growth in the five urban centres and along major transit corridors with a goal of putting more people and more jobs within easy walking distance of reliable, direct transit service.
• Developing an energy concierge pilot program to support homeowners with energy retrofits.
• Top-up rebates for heat pump space heating, heat pump water heaters, electrical service upgrades, and EV (Electric Vehicle) chargers in multi-unit residential buildings.
• Amendments to the zoning bylaw to include EV ready requirements for new residential developments.
• A new Climate Action and Environmental Stewardship Department to apply a climate lens to policy development and decisions.
• 22 EV chargers on City properties with plans to install more.
• Completed a deconstruction pilot project on city-owned homes to assess waste reduction options and reduce lifecycle GHG emissions.
• Continued the Neighbourwoods Program to encourage citizens to help grow and preserve Kelowna’s urban forestEnvironmental protection and climate change adaptation are also essential for the City of Kelowna as we take measures to protect our beautiful landscape.

Environmental protection and climate change adaptation are also essential for the City of Kelowna as we take measures to protect our beautiful landscape.

The City of Kelowna was recently awarded the Climate & Energy Action Award at UBCM for our FireSmart Community Chipping Program, which has collected well over 100 metric tonnes of vegetation to reduce wildfire risk.

Other environmental protection and climate adaptation initiatives that have been in place include:

• Continued work on Mill Creek Flood Protection Project (year four of an eight-year project) to improve flood passage and public safety on Mill Creek.
• Initiated development of a Water Security Plan.
• Amended the Development Application Procedures Bylaw to require pre-development tree inventory to identify trees that may require root zone protection and help ensure trees proposed for the development are retained and protected.
• Finalizing a Sustainable Urban Forestry Strategy to expand Kelowna’s urban tree canopy (this year more than 1000 trees were planted).
• Continued implementation of the Community Wildfire Resilience Plan.

Along with Council’s other priorities of acting on crime and safety, affordable housing, homelessness, transportation, and agriculture, we have a lot of important work to do. An Oct. 16 report to Council at the six-month point since priorities were developed provided encouraging evidence that we are making progress on all priorities.

Ultimately, for Kelowna to become resilient to climate change, it will require collaboration with all levels of government, businesses and organizations, and the broader community. At the time of writing this article, conversations are happening between the federal and provincial government regarding the federal carbon tax. It will be interesting to see how the policy evolves in the coming weeks, months and years. Nonetheless, as a local government, we are uniquely positioned to influence this shift and how our community will grow, how we commute, interact and protect natural assets to maintain the quality of life we cherish in Kelowna.

We will all breathe easier if we work together to protect our environment and lessen the impacts on our warming climate. This is something the City has done in the past and I can assure you that Council will continue to use a climate lens when reviewing City policies, infrastructure, and programs.

By Mayor Tom Dyas

On Aug. 15, twenty years — almost to the day — after the start of the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire, flames from the McDougall Creek wildfire ignited our city’s skyline and quickly reminded us of the power of both wildfire and our regional emergency program.

More than 500 firefighters and 100 RCMP officers from more than 50 cities and towns joined forces with the Kelowna Fire Department, West Kelowna Fire Rescue, Lake Country Fire Department, North Westside Fire Rescue, Wilson's Landing Fire Department, BC Wildfire Service, Kelowna RCMP and Bylaw Services to execute an unprecedented, coordinated response.

While there will always be lessons to be learned in any emergency response, I am truly humbled by what was, and still is being, accomplished by the incredible work of our first responders and emergency operations centre. While a strong emergency response program is key, in the wake of a crisis that threatened lives and destroyed people’s homes, we all want to know what we can do to minimize the risk of wildfire in our community in the future.

First and foremost, we must recognize that the intensity and sheer number of wildfires we’ve seen across Canada and beyond are what many are now calling a climate change wake-up call, and one of the many reasons why climate/environment is one of six Council priorities. From the way we travel, to the electricity we use, and the food we eat, we all have a role to play in helping to limit climate change. Because, as temperatures rise, so too will the size, frequency and severity of wildfires.

Wildfire risk reduction is also top of mind in the community. Fuel mitigation treatments reduce the amount of available fire fuels in our natural areas, which plays a significant role in our ability to manage wildfire as safely and as quickly as possible. Over the past five years, the City has actioned over 100 hectares of fuel mitigation treatments on city-owned land, including reducing the amount of woody debris on the forest floor, thinning trees where necessary, and removing the lower limbs of trees to help keep fire from climbing into the canopy.

The success of fuel mitigation, including work done in Wilden during this fire and earlier in the season on Knox Mountain, speaks to the importance of proactive treatment and the need to look at all the different ways it can be accomplished—including securing ongoing, long-term funding and the way we explore new solutions, such as prescribed burns or the use of animals for grazing in key areas.

Residents can also make a critical difference by visiting kelowna.ca/firesmart to learn how to FireSmart their homes and take advantage of the City’s free community chipping program. Frontline fire fighters 2 said the homes and areas that were FireSmart made an integral difference in their ability to fight the recent fire safely and save properties.

New subdivisions in Kelowna are subject to review against Wildfire Hazard Development Permit guidelines which are reviewed by professional foresters. Developers are required to perform fuel modification and new single family lots created in fire hazard areas have maintenance obligations registered on their land title related to building construction and property maintenance in accordance with Fire Smart guidelines.

The Provincial Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) Program and 2022–2026 Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan, which contains over 40 recommendations from standardizing fuel management to how we build our communities, have been integral to completing wildfire prevention activities that have and will continue to reduce risk for our community especially as we face extreme fire and weather conditions.

The CRI program is a provincial funding program administered through the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) to provide funds for communities to plan and implement actions to reduce wildfire risk. Through the program over the last five years, we have been awarded $730,000, which has supported a variety of important FireSmart and mitigation initiatives throughout the community.

This year we were also successful in receiving a federal grant of $132,000 for ecological restoration and fuel management. As we return to normal, post wildfire, the City will be assessing impact to City property, as well as whether any intervention required to support a healthy regeneration of the area. In addition, the regional emergency program will be looking at lessons learned to apply to future events in our region. I am pleased to see conversations occurring at both the federal and provincial levels regarding resiliency and response and welcome Premier Eby’s emergency response task force announced just last week.

We will also reflect on the depth of our city’s spirit and unity through this event. It got us through a crisis and will undoubtedly be the key to achieving our collective community goals and vision for an inclusive, welcoming, prosperous and sustainable future.