Incorporation study ordered for Okanagan Falls area

Despite concerns the proposed boundaries are too large, local politicians on Thursday voted in favour of an incorporation study that could be a prelude to a stand-alone municipal government in the Okanagan Falls area.

“I think the boundaries are too large for an incorporated community. Those will be significant costs, especially when it gets to roads. However, I think the public in Area D needs to know what those costs will be, so I support moving forward to the next phase of this,” said Karla Kozakevich, who represents Area E (Naramata) on the board of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.

The motion subsequently approved by the board will see the RDOS request the B.C. government fund an incorporation study in an area that covers all of Okanagan Falls, the Sun Valley and Rolling Hills neighbourhoods, McLean Creek flats, certain properties just west of Okanagan Falls and east of Highway 97, the communities of Heritage Hills, Lakeshore Highlands, Vintage Views, Golden Hills and Skaha Estates, and the eastern portion of Vaseux Lake currently in Area D.

The area — and incorporation study — was recommended by the Electoral Area D Service and Boundary Configuration Study Committee, which spent more than a year investigating the subject and consulting with the public.

Five different boundary configurations — but not the one ultimately recommended by the committee — were eventually tested by a public survey, which received responses from 511 people, representing just 10% of the entire population of Area D. Of those surveyed, 23% rejected all of the options outright and expressed a desire for no incorporation study.

After reviewing the results and grappling with its own concerns, the committee settled on a recommended boundary configuration that combined some of the options.

As for the large geographic area encompassed by the boundaries, committee chair Matt Taylor, who also heads the Okanagan Falls Community Association, said concerns have been noted.

“The committee’s feeling quite strongly at the end of the day was that it should be as they’ve set out. The community of Okanagan Falls and the community association, which I represent, they definitely want to see Okanagan Falls incorporated. They are aware of the risk that a larger community entails,” said Taylor.

Missing from Thursday’s meeting was Ron Obirek, the RDOS director for Area D, who sent an alternate in his place.

If the province agrees to fund the incorporation study, work would likely begin following the October municipal election. And even if the study recommends incorporation, it would still need to be confirmed by a referendum.

The RDOS tried in 2010 and 2012 to obtain funding from the B.C. government for an incorporation study.

The only time the possibility of incorporation was actually put to a vote was in 1989, when it failed in a referendum.