FOR THE RECORD: City of Kelowna supports ownership housing in many ways, with proven success

News Release

In response to the open letter distributed by the Canadian Home Builders Association of the Central Okanagan on March 5, the following information corrects some inaccuracies and outlines the many ways the City of Kelowna is addressing the association’s concerns with home ownership.

For the record, the current building market is not unique to Kelowna, any other community in the Okanagan, British Columbia or the rest of Canada and the greatest contributors to the soft market are macroeconomic factors, not local policy.

Kelowna cannot change the fact that demand for new housing is significantly lower than it was during and shortly after the COVID19 pandemic and that interest rates and costs have risen in recent years. Kelowna staff and Council cannot change the macro-economics of the national housing industry.

Builders in cities with fees that are both higher and lower than Kelowna are also struggling to make projects viable, in a market that is not currently demanding as much housing.

  Kelowna has been a national leader in advocating for and developing policies and processes to facilitate more housing.

Here are a few recent highlights:

• Implementation of Bill 44, allowing four to six homes on most residential properties in Kelowna
• Pre-approved designs for 10-plus different types and styles of infill housing, reducing time and expense for builders
• Two- to three-week turnaround on approvals for most small-scale residential buildings
• Pre-zoning most of the city for streamlined residential development, including permitting additional housing density along transit corridors

We know the work isn’t finished, and here are other initiatives underway:

• A report on barriers to infill housing development and recommended actions will come to Council this spring.
• Staff are working on options for Council to consider changes to fees and charges for the development community.
• A formal sector study is underway this year to consider opening more land for significant residential, commercial and industrial development.

With respect to Development Cost Charges (DCCs), the City of Kelowna has only increased DDCs by approximately 2.5 per cent since 2022, despite the costs to deliver growth-related infrastructure having increased by nearly 35 per cent during that same period.

The City has absorbed the cost differential during this period, roughly a 32.5 per cent increase in costs to deliver the DCC program without passing these costs on to the industry. Further, when compared to other municipalities across the Province it is notable that the City of Kelowna does not apply an Amenity Cost Charge (ACC) or a Regional DCC to development approvals. Kelowna’s model of having a singular DCC keeps costs to develop here much lower than in other communities. In terms of regulatory reduction, Kelowna has been a leader for many years and has helped shape Provincial policy. It has received national recognition for its efficient and effective automation of the permitting process.

The City also closely tracks housing data to gain insight into current and future trends of the housing market, identify the challenges and opportunities, and inform the policies and decisions that affect housing outcomes for everyone.

Ownership housing in Kelowna, which the CHBA is particularly interested in, is on target with long-established goals. The housing needs breakdown data shows 6,079 ownership homes constructed in Kelowna since 2021, halfway to the 10-year goal of 12,318 new ownership homes.

We recognize the challenges the development and construction sectors face and remain committed to working collaboratively to support housing delivery while meeting our legislative and infrastructure responsibilities.

We are building Kelowna together, but we aren’t controlling the market.