At the May 16th City of West Kelowna Council Meeting, city staff will be presenting three documents: the original draft OCP Land Use Designations, the UDI Request, and Proposed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) increase.
City staff will present public feedback received over the last several years however considerable weight has been given to the Urban Development Institute, Okanagan Branch (UDI), who describe themselves as, “The Premier Voice of the Okanagan Development Industry”.
Within the document to be presented to city council, the UDI is requesting that EVERY category of Land Use Designation may have a greater Floor Area Ration (FAR) through “Density Bonusing”.
This means that any land use designation could become merely a suggestion. It will encourage developers to consider the suggested building heights and densities as just a starting point. Apartments in any medium density residential (MDR) zone will have a starting point of 4 storeys for negotiations. The starting point for Neighbourhood Centres will be 6 storeys, but how high and dense could they go? The greatest problem with “Density Bonusing” is that it is not clear what it means, and it provides no security to people who live anywhere in West Kelowna.
For full information go to Regular Council Meeting - May 16, 2023 (escribemeetings.com) and open the link. Note: On the 10th page is a chart showing the original draft OCP Land Use Designations, the UDI Request, and the Proposed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) increase.