PlaceDossier / BC places / North Okanagan
BC region · regional district
North Okanagan Regional District
Armstrong, Coldstream, Enderby, Lumby, Spallumcheen and Vernon and 5 electoral areas, 7,602 km² in all. 87,559 people lived in them in 2021, up 8.7% from 2016, not counting First Nations reserves, which the census counts on their own. 8.4% of the land is in the farmland reserve, and 7.1% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong city | 5,323 | 5 km² | 29% | none |
| Coldstream district municipality | 11,171 | 69 km² | 54% | 0.5% |
| Enderby city | 3,028 | 4 km² | 15% | none |
| Lumby village | 2,063 | 6 km² | 9.4% | none |
| Spallumcheen district municipality | 5,307 | 256 km² | 55% | 0.6% |
| Vernon city | 44,519 | 117 km² | 21% | 1.6% |
| Electoral Area B | 3,274 | 552 km² | 8.5% | 45% |
| Electoral Area C | 4,511 | 301 km² | 3.9% | 0.3% |
| Electoral Area D | 2,909 | 1,819 km² | 9.6% | 1.1% |
| Electoral Area E | 1,092 | 2,639 km² | 2.8% | 6.3% |
| Electoral Area F | 4,362 | 1,834 km² | 6.8% | 5.6% |
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 North Okanagan Regional District name the zone from its open zoning map, where one bylaw is drawn. Each of its 6 municipalities zones its own land; its page says what we show there.
- Regional District of North Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 2023Drawn in Electoral Area B. 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 North Okanagan Regional District before you buy or build. Every zoning bylaw we cover.
Building permits
Where the North Okanagan Regional District's building inspection covers its electoral areas (Building Bylaw No. 2670, 2015): there a building permit is needed and the work is inspected.
| Electoral area | Covered by building inspection |
|---|---|
| Electoral Area B | All of the area |
| Electoral Area C | All of the area |
| Electoral Area D | All of the area |
| Electoral Area E | All of the area |
| Electoral Area F | All of the area |
Our reading of the Regional District of North 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 North Okanagan Regional District's places, in 5 seasons. The largest here:
- 2021White Rock Lake wildfire83,047 ha in all24,718 ha here
- 2021Bunting Road wildfire5,204 ha in all5,199 ha here
- 2021Winnifred Creek wildfire5,081 ha in all5,081 ha here
- 2003Unnamed by the BC Wildfire Service (fire K40469)1,586 ha in all1,586 ha here
- 2003Unnamed by the BC Wildfire Service (fire K40358)1,483 ha in all1,483 ha here
- 2018Unnamed by the BC Wildfire Service (fire K41813)1,370 ha in all1,370 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 North 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, Central Okanagan, Columbia Shuswap, Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, East Kootenay, Fraser Valley, Fraser-Fort George, Kitimat-Stikine, Kootenay Boundary, Metro Vancouver, Mount Waddington, Nanaimo, North Coast, Okanagan-Similkameen, Peace River, qathet, Squamish-Lillooet, Strathcona, Sunshine Coast, Thompson-Nicola.