Ask West Kelowna
Housing plays an important role in health and our community's well-being.
We want to be a place where people can call West Kelowna home and to make this possible, a variety of housing types and tenures are needed for our young city. Using the concept of a housing continuum, the City continues to strive towards different housing options for residents.
Housing Continuum
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has developed the housing continuum to visually demonstrate the forms of housing tenure. The continuum includes a wide range of housing options available in our communities, from temporary options such as emergency shelters for people who are experiencing homelessness, to more permanent housing such as rental and home ownership. The continuum isn't intended to imply progression towards home ownership – it simply represents the full range of options that match people’s needs and preferences with appropriate forms of housing and supports (if needed).
Key initiatives are underway across the region for different aspects of the continuum. The City has completed a Housing Needs Assessment in 2022, participated in the Regional Housing Strategy (RHS), and completed a Unique Identifier Count (UIC) in 2022. The UIC provides insight at a community-level on the types of homelessness, housing instability and support needs known anecdotally throughout the community and not usually captured by a traditional Point-in-Time Count. In early 2023 the City is undertaking our first West Kelowna Housing Strategy.
The City's role in supporting housing
The City supports housing through a number of actions within its regulatory abilities. While the factors that affect housing demand are largely beyond the control of local government, the City supports our community's housing needs through:
-
Land use outlined in the Official Community Plan that provides the direction of how we grow
-
Regulation that guides location and type of housing that can be built in the community
-
Policies and programs that supports development of attainable and non-market housing options
-
Collaboration with agencies, non-profit and private sector partners to deliver much-needed housing supply
-
Advocacy with the provincial and federal governments on a range of housing issues
The City also continues to work with BC Housing to establish longer term transition and supportive housing in West Kelowna as part of addressing the attainable housing continuum for the Greater Westside. The goal is to partner with the Province of BC and social agencies to support and increase the opportunities for safe, attainable and accessible housing that meets our diverse community needs. We are also collaborating with Westbank First Nation and BC Housing to determine all viable land and facility opportunities to serve the Greater Westside.
Housing initiatives
The City of West Kelowna undertook a Housing Needs Assessment in 2021, that builds on the Regional Needs Assessment completed by the RDCO and to capture any unique community needs. The information gathered inform priorities for managing current housing needs across the housing spectrum and prepare for the future needs of the community.
The report will be used as a guide to recommend strategies and best management practices for the upcoming West Kelowna Housing Strategy.
Read the report: West Kelowna Housing Needs Assessment
| Regional Housing Strategy |
|
The Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) has developed a Regional Housing Strategy (RHS) to explore tools and actions that can address housing issues, needs and gaps throughout the Central Okanagan. The strategy’s objective is to develop a regional approach to direct how to move forward to address challenges around affordability, supply, and supportive housing across the region and improve coordinated action. The RHS will focus on the regional district as a whole to identify a range of actions at the local level specific to non-market and market housing in the two electoral areas, District of Peachland, City of West Kelowna, City of Kelowna, District of Lake Country, Westbank First Nation, and Okanagan Indian Band. Read the report: Regional Housing Needs Assessment |
| Unique Identifier Count |
|
Council received a report on the outcomes of the Unique Identifier Count (UIC) on Jan. 10, 2023. This initiative builds on the Point-in-Count and provides a better understanding of homelessness and housing instability in the community. View the presentation and Report to Council. |
| Housing Strategy |
|
The City awarded a contract to Urban Matters to assist in developing the City’s first Housing Strategy. The Housing Strategy is intended to build from the recently completed Housing Needs Assessment and Unique Identifier Count, which identified housing demand and gaps within the city across the full continuum of housing, including emergency, transitional, supportive, subsidized rental, and ownership housing. The Housing Strategy will provide the City with a framework to address the needs and gaps identified in the Housing Needs Assessment necessary to serve the current and anticipated population in our city and is intended to be completed in 2023.
|
Social housing in West Kelowna
| Social housing |
|
Social housing is government subsidized and these facilities are typically owned or operated by either the government or a non-profit housing partner. Social housing serves those struggling with or at risk of homelessness, low-income seniors and families, those displaced by domestic violence, individuals with disabilities, and countless other members of our community who are in need of help to sustain a safe and secure home. |
| West Kelowna Temporary Shetler |
|
On the Greater Westside, there are 38 warm beds available for people experiencing homelessness. This facility, located at 2515 Bartley Road, is a partnership between BC Housing and Turning Points Collaborative Society with support from the City. The temporary modular shelter offers a kitchen, hygiene facilities, common areas and individual rooms, providing safe space for shelter guests and staff. People who stay in this shelter are 19 or older and typically have a history of homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. Learn more about BC Housing's services, programs and facilities through their online resources:
Bartley Shelter - 2515 Bartley Road
|
| Background |
| 2018 Westside Point-In-Time Count
In July 2018, the City and Westbank First Nation coordinated with community agencies and volunteers to conduct the Westside’s first Point-in-Time Count. The 2018 Point-in-Time Count provided valuable information about the individuals experiencing or struggling with homelessness in our community. Temporary Use Permit issued for a winter shelter On July 13, Council approved a Temporary Use Permit for a facility to temporarily house residents previously staying at the shelter at the United Church on Brown Road. The church’s sale created an urgency to find a new temporary shelter before winter. Previous Winter Shelter on Stevens Road From January through March 2020, BC Housing provided a temporary winter shelter at 1160 Stevens Road to assist our most vulnerable citizens in the Greater Westside. The West Kelowna Shelter Society (WKSS), under contract from BC Housing, provided the temporary modular shelter, with safe, secure services and supports for up to 40 people, who required refuge from extreme cold temperatures through the winter months. Additional provincial resources: Learn about Homes for BC, the provincial government’s 30-point plan to address housing affordability for British Columbians. |
Contact Us