Mayor speaks to Chamber about city’s future

Mayor Colin Basran spoke to the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce today during an online lunch meeting, describing the city’s response to the pandemic and offering a look at what’s expected in 2021.

The mayor noted that development activity was down in 2020 compared to the five-year average.

“But we also know the previous five years were the most active in our city’s history, with the highest-ever construction values,” said Basran.

While developers and builders did pull back on large-scale residential, commercial and industrial projects, there was a modest increase in permit activity for smaller scale renovations and single-family construction.

Thanks to this smaller-scale work and uninterrupted access to services provided by the City, permit volume was down less than 10 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.

The mayor said one of the big challenges many communities face is attracting qualified, talented staff and now, working from home or working remotely has changed employment dynamics.

“But many of us think this new dynamic is going to give Kelowna a serious competitive advantage – particularly after pandemic restrictions are lifted,” said the mayor. “All of Kelowna’s attributes we’ve been trumpeting for the last decade are going to be more obvious and attractive than ever for people who want to live in a beautiful, progressive, energetic city.”

He also encouraged residents to get involved in the community and share opinions through the Official Community Plan update.

“It’s so important for people to get involved in the OCP update currently underway, so that we address one of our biggest obstacles to that vision – our city’s affordability challenge. Because the local housing market has a huge impact on our ability to recruit and retain talent.”

The mayor also noted how the pandemic has changed some processes for the better.

“For example, Council just endorsed moving forward with the Bernard Avenue closure to vehicles for the summer – a move that proved very popular last year.

“Also, thanks to COVID-19, most City services, including payments, are now available online.

“Plus, we’ve rediscovered how valuable our parks and Active Transportation Corridors are, with numbers of people using those spaces and amenities way up.”

The City’s capital spending for 2021 is $60.6 million, the mayor noted, with the vast majority of it spent in Kelowna, helping to keep people employed and keeping the local economy moving.

Basran also pledged to continue advocacy efforts to other levels of government for stronger support. The bulk of that work will be done through the Central Okanagan Economic Development Task Force and the B.C. Urban Mayors Caucus.