Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study

Click to watch a video of the November 21, 2023 Committee meeting or read the minutes from this meeting.

The community Committee is made up of 10 Incorporation Study Area residents who guide the work of the technical consultants. They remain neutral about incorporation and ensure that technical work is thorough and unbiased.

The second meeting of the Committee is taking place from 6:30-8:30pm on Tues, Nov. 21, and the Committee will be reviewing this agenda.

While meetings are working sessions between the Committee and the technical consultants, residents may attend. At the end of the meeting (around 8pm), residents will be asked if they have any questions or comments on agenda items. Residents may attend the meeting in person, online, or by phone using the details below:

• In-person location: 1141 Cedar Street, Okanagan Falls (Okanagan Falls Community Centre Gym)
• Join the meeting online: https://rdos.webex.com
• Join from the meeting link: https://rdos.webex.com/rdos/j.php?MTID=m39f2c117b9e012402434553cc477159b
• Meeting number: 2771 965 5955
• Meeting password: RD@S
• Join by phone: 1-833-311-4101 Canada Toll Free
• Access code: 2771 965 5955
• [To get in the queue to ask a question, select: *3]

What are the steps in the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study process? How did we get here, and what comes next? If these questions resonate with you, check out this one-page diagram that shows what's complete, where the process is currently at, and what's yet to come in the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study: https://rdosregionalconnections.ca/36535/widgets/150610/documents/117231

It’s not always obvious who makes decisions regarding your local services. Understanding the differences between how decision-making works in electoral areas vs municipalities is key to the discussion about incorporation.

Okanagan Falls is currently within Electoral Area “D” in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS). Electoral areas encompass communities and rural lands outside municipal boundaries, and are often referred to as unincorporated areas.

In electoral areas, many local services, such as planning, solid waste and fire protection are provided by regional districts.

Okanagan Falls is just one of several communities and neighbourhoods within Electoral Area “D", which is represented by one elected official, the Area “D” Director, on the board of the RDOS. There are 9 electoral area directors on the Board, each representing their own electoral area, plus 11 municipal directors from the 6 municipalities within the region.

In regional districts, some service decisions are made only by the directors of the areas that participate in the service (i.e. land use decisions). However, where a service is only provided to one electoral area, or a portion of an electoral area (such as Okanagan Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant or Sun Valley Water System in Area “D"), decisions cannot be made by one electoral area director alone, and so are instead made by the RDOS Board (all 20 municipal and electoral area directors).

In fact, decisions about all regional district services, regardless of whether it is a service to just Area “D", or to several electoral areas or combination or jurisdictions, involve directors from other jurisdictions in the region. This is a distinct difference from municipalities, where the authority for making decisions for local municipal services rests with the municipal Council. The municipal model allows for decisions to be made by locally-elected representatives (5 to 7, depending on Council size), and provides opportunities for a broader range of local perspectives to be shared in the decision-making process.

You can learn more details on how regional and municipal governance differ in this short, printable document --> How Regional Districts Work (and how they're different from municipalities)

INFORMATION RELEASE

The Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study is officially underway. An Incorporation Study Committee has been formed and will serve as an objective, fact-finding body to ensure that the study and related communications are neutral and balanced. The Study Committee held its first meeting on September 11, 2023, and community members Rick Wilson and Kea Adachi were elected chair and vice-chair, respectively.

“The Incorporation Study Committee has an important role,” said Allan Neilson of Neilson Strategies, who leads the consulting team hired by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) to provide technical analysis and communications for the Incorporation Study. “The Committee has been established as a community-based, objective, and impartial body to review information on incorporation, understand what incorporation would mean to the community, and, at the end of this nearly year-and-a-half-long process, to recommend to the RDOS Board whether to pursue a referendum on incorporation.”

“At this time, there are two key things the Study Committee would like to emphasize to the community,” said chair Rick Wilson. “First, all Incorporation Study information will be posted online at https://rdosregionalconnections.ca as soon as it becomes available. Second, the Incorporation Study will take place over nearly a year-and-a-half, with the bulk of information becoming available in the spring of 2024. The Study Committee understands the community has many questions, and your patience is appreciated as we work to get the answers.”

For the remainder of 2023, the Study Committee will oversee the consultants' technical analysis to determine the implications of incorporation for the community. Throughout 2024, various community events will be held to share the findings and allow Okanagan Falls residents to ask questions. To receive email updates when new information becomes available, please click the “subscribe” button on the top right side of the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study web page at https://rdosregionalconnections.ca.

Background
In the fall of 2022, the RDOS Board of Directors approved a recommendation from the Service and Boundary Configuration Study Committee to request support from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs for an Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study. The study's primary purpose is to provide electors within the study area with the information and understanding required to make an informed decision on incorporation. Under the guidance of the citizen-based Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study Committee, consultants hired by the RDOS will undertake a thorough, objective and technical examination of the incorporation option and its implications for governance and service delivery in the area.

For further information, please contact Christy Malden, RDOS Manager of Legislative Services.

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Contacts:

Christy Malden
RDOS Manager of Legislative Services
250-490-4146

Erick Thompson
RDOS Communications
250-490-4211
RDOS Toll-Free 1-877-610-3737

At the Incorporation Study Committee's first meeting on September 11, 2023, the Committee elected members Rick Wilson as the Committee Chair and Kea Adachi as Vice-Chair.

The role of the Chair is to lead meetings and maintain order. The Chair is also the Spokesperson for the Committee.

The Vice-Chair will fill this role in the Chair's absence.

Click here to view the Meeting Agenda

At the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2023, the Board appointed the following individuals as members of the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study Committee:

• Rick Wilson - Ian Bowen - Judy Garner
• Debbie Rose - Kelvin Hall - Eleanor Walker
• Eugene Dettling - Randy Ludwar - Marcel Olsthoorn
• Kea Adachi

Click here to view the Administrative Report

The RDOS Board of Directors also awarded the contract to carry out the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study and Community Engagement Process to the combined team of Neilson Strategies, Horsman Strategies, Leftside Partners, and Inspire Creative.

The next steps will include committee and consultant orientation, which will take place at a date to be determined.

Click here to view the Administrative Report

On March 23, 2023, the Minister of Municipal Affairs confirmed support for the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) to undertake an incorporation study, including an estimate of financial impacts, a full community discussion, and an independent road assessment of provincial roads. The Study will provide electors within the study area with the information and understanding required to make an informed decision on incorporation. The RDOS Board of Directors adopted a Terms of Reference for the study at their April 6, 2023 meeting, and directed staff to commence the process.

The first step in the process is the recruitment of a committee to work with staff and a local government consultant to guide the study. The committee is an objective fact-finding body. Individual members of the committee should ensure any expression of their personal opinions do not detract from the ability of the study committee to function as a neutral and credible conduit for information to the community. The Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study Committee is an advisory ad hoc committee of the RDOS. The committee, working with staff and qualified consultant(s), will ensure that the study and engagement with the community is neutral and balanced. At the end of the study process, the committee will provide recommendations to the RDOS Board of Directors based on study findings, which may inform a potential request to proceed with an incorporation vote.

Applications are due Friday, June 30, 2023.

During the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, April 6, 2023, the Board approved the Terms of Reference and funding offer from the province concerning moving forward with an Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study. While the Electoral Area “D” Services and Boundary and Configuration Study in 2021/22 produced a solid analysis of services and potential boundaries, the data gathered did not reflect a resounding preference for incorporation in areas outlying Okanagan Falls.

As a result, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs has recommended that an amended boundary may result in a more definitive outcome from electors to proceed to an incorporation vote. In reviewing the data from the surveys and public feedback, with Okanagan Falls being common to all options considered, there is support for a study area involving that community and the immediate surrounding area as the core of a potentially new municipality in the area.

The study area captures the primary growth centre of Electoral Area “D” and the community with the existing urban infrastructure (sewer and water), as well as the mix of property classes and population and development potential necessary to sustain a municipality. It includes established wineries to the south, and some farmland and newer wineries to the east (after the 2022 survey results confirmed their interest).

While boundary adjustments for the remainder of Electoral Area “D” are not part of this study, it should be noted that if a study results in assent from the citizens to move forward with incorporating the study area, outlying communities that were not part of the incorporation study may apply through a boundary extension process at a later date.

Two Requests for Proposals (RFP) have been issued by the Regional District for a qualified firm or individuals for the provision of consulting services for an Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study report(s) and a series of public engagement activities and consultations.

RDOS staff appreciate the time and efforts contributed by volunteer committee members during the Electoral Area “D” Services and Boundary Configuration Study and look forward to working with a similar committee on the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study. The first step in the process is the recruitment of a committee to work with staff and a local government consultant to guide the study. The committee is an objective fact-finding body. Individual members of the committee should ensure any expression of their personal opinions do not detract from the ability of the study committee to function as a neutral and credible conduit for information to the community.

Please view the Documents section on the right to view the Requests for Proposals, Expression of Interest - Call for Committee Members, and additional documents.

In 2021/22, the RDOS undertook a Services and Boundary Configuration Study for Electoral Area "D," supported by a community volunteer Committee. At the end of the Study, the Committee recommended that RDOS ask the BC Government to allow an Incorporation Study for Okanagan Falls.

Information and documents from this project may be viewed here.