City Hall
Cities Matter! City policy influences over 40% of GHG emissions in Canada, through transportation, land use and building. We are in a climate crisis and we need drastic climate action on 'all fronts - everything, everywhere, all at once.' Through transportation, land use and building. We actively monitor city council meetings and public hearings to bring attention to the need for climate change adaptation or mitigation. See our link to the Official Community Plan (OCP) and Transportation Master Plan (TMP).
The City of Kelowna must do its part and KCC is here to ensure that it does. We will shed light on those council leaders who vote for actions that are a step back rather than a step forward . More importantly, our wish is to provide mayor and council with real ideas and actionable plans to help prevent the climate crisis from becoming a climate catastrophe.
Council Meetings
During the August 15, 2023, Public Hearing the Director of Planning for the City of Kelowna on the new Canadian Tire big box store that will soon replace the Costco big box store: "When we talk about a climate lens, I think that sometimes we forget that our Official Community Plan, or Zoning Bylaws, or Transportation Master Plan were all put together with a climate lens."
Our question to this assertion is: What climate lens was utilized that could support such an inefficient use of this site? Surely this would have been an ideal location for a mixed-use development.
Council Corner
MUNICIPAL POLICY COUNTS! What happens at city hall impacts 40% to 45% of our community’s carbon footprint. Kelowna’s policies on transportation, land use, and building codes today and in the years to come will dictate if we are part of the problem, or part of the solution, to the climate crisis that we all face. Kelowna will increasingly be impacted by climate change and right now we are taking baby steps or at times heading in the wrong direction, making our future worse.
Kelowna is one of the fastest heating areas in BC and we are not immune to the ravages of climate change. The 2021 heat dome, the first of many more to come should we not reign in global heating, left fifteen residents dead. The smoke from the subsequent fires hospitalized many more with respiratory ailments.
Review of OCP/TMP
We recognize these municipal plans can be overwhelming - here's a breakdown of what you need to know.
Mayor Dyas reported to council that several task forces were in the works covering diverse areas of concern, but there was no mention of a citizen’s advisory committee to address the climate crisis nor any indication that our city is prepared to declare a climate emergency.
Why not? Kelowna residents have been waiting for leadership. We have wasted two terms and we can no longer afford to kick this issue down the road. Talking about the climate crisis is fine. Doing something as a community would make an actual difference.