We collect fees from land developers to offset costs of processing applications and finance capital projects related to new roads, drainage, sewers, water mains and acquiring parks. These fees include a Development Cost Charge (DCC), imposed by Bylaw pursuant to the Local Government Act. Anytime a proposed development increases density, DCCs are estimated and charged; this includes creating new square footage on a commercial or industrial project, adding new dwellings or creating new subdivided lots.

Geese are gathering on beaches up and down the Okanagan Valley. Geese are typically migratory birds, but are now taking up residence in grassy areas on the waterfront, on golf courses and in parks. Kelowna is not the only community faced with this issue as geese are thriving in many communities across Canada and the United States, and their typical behaviour is changing.

Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) has undergone significant expansion over the past few years, presenting various challenges that affect livability in the neighbourhood.

We worked closely with the Interior Health Authority on a Hospital Area Plan to guide future redevelopment and address parking and transportation needs. Overall, the Hospital Area Plan is a combined land use, transportation and parking strategy, with the goal of creating a vibrant health district that supports hospital-related services while maintaining the integrity of established neighbourhoods.

Our built environment, including homes, neighbourhoods, schools, streets, workplaces and parks, are the places and spaces in which we live, work, play and learn. When strategically designed, these places can reduce obesity and chronic diseases, like heart disease and diabetes, and improve our well-being and social connections.

Like many other cities around the world, Kelowna is grappling with how to build a vibrant, healthy and sustainable city in the face of challenges including climate change, a growing prevalence of chronic health conditions and an aging population.

Agriculture is historically significant in Kelowna, shaping both its development pattern and economy. Agricultural land plays an essential role in improving our residents’ quality of life, offers an aesthetically diverse landscape, is an essential part of our green infrastructure (retaining rainwater, preventing flooding and recharging aquifers), and ensures food security. An agriculture plan focuses on a community's farm area to discover practical solutions to challenges, identify opportunities to strengthen farming and ultimately contribute to agriculture and the community'

We have an inventory and maps of environmentally sensitive areas including creeks, wetlands, grasslands, old growth forests, sensitive ecosystems and the Okanagan Lake foreshore. Twenty-seven creeks and 278 wetlands have been identified within the city.  

These inventories help us, the development community and residents better protect, improve and enhance our environmentally sensitive ecosystems. 

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Kelowna has experienced the havoc that climate change can cause to a community, with back-to-back years of record spring precipitation causing historic flooding followed by hot dry summers that contributed to droughts and wildfires (2017 and 2018).

The Civic Precinct Plan is a future land use plan guiding the long-term redevelopment of key sites in Kelowna’s Civic Precinct area over 25 years (2016-2040). The Civic Precinct area, also known more broadly as Kelowna’s Cultural District, is located between Clement Avenue to the north, Queensway Avenue to the south, Water Street to the west, and Ellis Street to the east.