PlaceDossier / BC places / Central Okanagan
BC region · regional district
Central Okanagan Regional District
Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland and West Kelowna and 2 electoral areas, 3,133 km² in all. 209,415 people lived in them in 2021, up 13.7% from 2016, not counting First Nations reserves, which the census counts on their own. 8.3% of the land is in the farmland reserve, and 18% has burned in a mapped wildfire since 1996.
Its places
Each place's page has its land, hazards, wells, climate, tax and census facts. Listed by name, not ranked.
| Place | People, 2021 | Land | In the farmland reserve | Burned since 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelowna city | 144,576 | 261 km² | 32% | 11% |
| Lake Country district municipality | 15,817 | 162 km² | 30% | 2.4% |
| Peachland district municipality | 5,789 | 18 km² | 7.2% | 13% |
| West Kelowna city | 36,078 | 159 km² | 7.1% | 36% |
| Central Okanagan | 4,258 | 1,278 km² | 3.5% | 10% |
| Central Okanagan West | 2,897 | 1,255 km² | 5.7% | 26% |
Land and shares measured by us from the provincial maps (farmland reserve, BC Wildfire Service perimeters) over Statistics Canada's 2021 census subdivisions; people from the 2021 census.
Zoning
Reports for rural lots in the Central Okanagan Regional District name the zone from its open zoning map, where 2 bylaws are drawn. Each of its 4 municipalities zones its own land; its page says what we show there.
- Zoning Bylaw No. 871Drawn in every electoral area. Its commonest zones are summarised in plain words.
- Joe Rich Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 1195Drawn in Electoral Area Central Okanagan. Its commonest zones are summarised in plain words.
A bylaw is listed for an area where at least 20 ha and 1% of it lies there, measured by us from the regional district's map. Confirm a lot's zone with the Central Okanagan Regional District before you buy or build. Every zoning bylaw we cover.
Building permits
Where the Central Okanagan Regional District's building inspection covers its electoral areas (Building Bylaw No. 1482): there a building permit is needed and the work is inspected.
| Electoral area | Covered by building inspection |
|---|---|
| Central Okanagan | All of the area |
| Central Okanagan West | All of the area |
Our reading of the Regional District of Central Okanagan's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Inside a municipality, the town or city runs its own building permits; the BC Building Code applies everywhere. Do you need a building permit on rural land?
Wildfire
Since 1990, 10 wildfires of 1,000 ha or more burned in the Central Okanagan Regional District's places, in 7 seasons. The largest here:
- 2023McDougall Creek wildfire13,970 ha in all13,949 ha here
- 2003Unnamed by the BC Wildfire Service (fire K50628)25,636 ha in all12,883 ha here
- 2021White Rock Lake wildfire83,047 ha in all9,919 ha here
- 2009Terrace Mountain wildfire9,277 ha in all9,277 ha here
- 2026Quilpituk Creek wildfire1,278 ha in all1,278 ha here
- 2021Derickson Lake wildfire1,163 ha in all1,145 ha here
Each place's page lists every large and smaller mapped fire in it. Every BC season and large fire since 1990.
Major projects
No major project in assessment or approved has its point in the Central Okanagan Regional District's places on the Environmental Assessment Office's register.
Check one lot: is it in the ALR? · is it on a floodplain map? · has it burned? · how deep are the wells? · is there room for a septic field? · short-term rentals? · property tax?
Other regions: Alberni-Clayoquot, Bulkley-Nechako, Capital, Cariboo, Central Coast, Central Kootenay, Columbia Shuswap, Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, East Kootenay, Fraser Valley, Fraser-Fort George, Kitimat-Stikine, Kootenay Boundary, Metro Vancouver, Mount Waddington, Nanaimo, North Coast, North Okanagan, Okanagan-Similkameen, Peace River, qathet, Squamish-Lillooet, Strathcona, Sunshine Coast, Thompson-Nicola.