Current Projects
The District of Summerland is currently undertaking an update to its Housing Needs Report. We are gathering the latest housing related data and information from the community with the aim to develop a better understanding of current and emerging housing needs of all Summerland residents. The Housing Needs Report will be a key component in informing and upcoming Official Community Plan update, required to be completed by the end of 2025, and the District's housing policies.
The District of Summerland worked with a team of consultants to create a Sustainable Eco-Village on district-owned lands at the toe of Cartwright Mountain. The Eco-Village project has been informed by engineering, environmental, archaeological and design expertise, best practices in sustainable design, as well as your community input.
The eco-village development area sits on roughly 66 acres of land in the Prairie Valley area. The subject property is located across 13500 Prairie Valley Road, 12591 Morrow Avenue, and the Denike area.
Past Projects
The District has amended the Official Community Plan (OCP) in 2024 to incorporate recommendations and policy objectives provided in the final draft of the Downtown Neighbourhood Action Plan. This Area Plan was adopted by Council in July of 2022 and the proposed changes will affect areas in and around downtown.
On March 5th two 2-hour open house sessions took place at the George Ryga Arts and Cultural Centre. The boards displayed can be found in the title link above. Thank you to all those who attended!
District Council adopted the changes to the District's OCP at it's meeting of July 2, 2024. Please visit the the District's Official Community Plan webpage to see the updated OCP and related mapping.
Update! - Council adopted Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2024-011 at it's meeting of June 11, 2024. The District of Summerland is now in compliance with Bill 44.
This review of the District's zoning bylaw, to be completed by June 30, 2024 is to address the following three areas of focus:
Conformance with Bill 44 - Housing Legislative changes
Review of the Section 6.0 Parking and Loading Section
Consistency with new Bill 35 - Short Term Rental Accommodations ActThe District of Summerland is required by the Province of BC to allow for four residential units on single family and duplex zoned areas, with access to full urban services, by the end of June. As well, a review of the District's parking regulations, tweaks to be consistent with Bill 35, and other administrative amendments occurred.
The District has undertaken a review of its short-term rentals (i.e. "vacation rentals" or "tourist rentals") policy. Short-term rentals are not currently defined in the District's Zoning Bylaw but are generally defined as private, residential dwellings (or parts of dwellings) that are rented on a temporary basis (generally less than 28 days) for the traveling public. The project proposed a new regulatory framework for short term rentals in recognition that short term rentals are not currently prohibited in the zoning bylaw but are currently operating within the community.
The District of Summerland was in pursuit of "reimagining" a new Downtown neighbourhood area that promotes vibrancy, revitalization and embodies a collective community vision through the development of a Downtown Neighbourhood Action Plan (DNAP). Through technical work and community input, this plan created a new vision and action plan for enhancing our downtown core over the short and long term. Three key focus areas have been identified for this project, and include: land use intensification and density, infrastructure renewal, public areas and gathering spaces.
The District conducted extensive policy, land use and background reviews to guide the DNAP planning process. A number of community survey opportunities were provided to help guide the future vision and plan development process for the DNAP. These discussions helped develop a plan that is representative of what matters most to all members of the community.
For more information please visit: https://www.summerland.ca/planning-building/planning-development/current-projects/downtown-reimagined
Development Application Procedures Bylaw
The District has had a historical Land Use Procedures Bylaw 98-003 that has been in need of review and modernization as it was adopted in 1998. District Council provided third reading and adoption of the new Development Application Procedures Bylaw at their evening meeting of November 9, 2020 in addition to related amendments required by the Official Community Plan.
Please find a below a link to the new Development Applications Procedure Bylaw here.
Zoning Bylaw - Administrative Amendments
The intent of this review was to complete a high-level administrative review to clean up some of the inconsistencies of the zoning bylaw, create new use definitions, adjust regulations that were commonly requested for a variance, and to clean up the appearance of the bylaw to allow ease of use for both the public and staff.
Please see the updated Zoning Bylaw here.
The District of Summerland is trailing Agri-Tourism Accommodation for a year. If you own a property zoned A1 or A2 that is over 2.0 hectares, you may qualify for this temporary camping/bed-and-breakfast style accommodation.
For more information, please see the dedicated webpage here.