WFN on pace to dominate Westside construction

Over 4,500 homes to be built by 2038, 2/3rd on First Nation

Four times as many new homes will be built on Westbank First Nation lands compared to the City of West Kelowna in the next two decades, according to new projections.

Commercial development on WFN lands will be six times greater than in West Kelowna, according to forecasts.

The dramatic difference in likely development trends are outlined in a report going today to directors of the Central Okanagan Regional District.

An estimated 4,556 homes could be built on the Westside by 2038, the report projects, with 3,622 of them on WFN lands and 934 in West Kelowna.

Almost 90% of new homes on WFN lands will be contained within multifamily complexes such as apartments and condominiums. About two-thirds of new homes in West Kelowna will be in multi-family buildings.

By 2038, WFN will have added more than 94,000 square metres of new commercial properties, while the City of West Kelowna commercial base will have increased by just 15,000 square metres, the report predicts.

New industrial premises are predicted to be roughly equal in the two jurisdictions, at roughly 46,000 square metres.

New industrial premises on WFN lands are estimated at almost 16,000 square metres compared to 12,000 square metres in West Kelowna.

The projections are based on recent building statistics, the amount of land available for development, and planning information supplied by both WFN and the City of West Kelowna to the regional district.

One consequence of the disparate development trends will likely be a reapportionment of costs related to the operation of the Westside sewage treatment plant, the report says.

Six years ago, about 74% of sewage flowing into the plant, located at the bottom of Goat’s Peak Mountain with an outflow into Okanagan Lake, came from properties in West Kelowna.

That has already declined to 70% and will drop further in the years ahead due “to the lower development activity relative to Westbank First Nations,” reads part of the report, prepared by regional engineering director David Komaike.

Peachland’s contribution to the sewage plant, carried via a pipe in the lake, account for less than 8% of total inflows and will remain about the same during the next 20 years, Komaike says.

The WFN has about 850 members and another 11,000 non-Indigenous people live in 4,700 homes on reserve lands. West Kelowna has a population of about 35,000.

There are 652 businesses on WFN lands, 552 of which are owned by non-band members.

Westbank First Nation building permit values last year topped $70 million, virtually all of which were issued for residential developments. Between 20052020, total building permits issued by the WFN were worth $678 million.

“Since achieving self-governing status in 2005, WFN has experienced incredible growth and success,” the band’s website states.