721 Francis Ave, Kelowna

Zone

TS1 (Transit Supportive Corridors)

Zoning bylaw

City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw No. 12375

Homes allowed

Ground-oriented homes up to apartments of 4 storeys (Area A of Figure 13.6.a) or 6 storeys (Areas B and C): apartments, townhouses and stacked townhouses, houses, semi-detached and duplex homes, with secondary suites in houses, semi-detached homes and townhouses; a boarding or lodging house only with the 'b' sub-zone

Main uses

Apartments, townhouses and stacked townhouses, houses, semi-detached and duplex housing, group homes; on the first storey: shops, restaurants, personal and professional services, cultural and recreation services, alcohol production facilities, a cannabis store with the 'rcs' sub-zone; offices and health services up to the second storey; indoor recreation, secondary suites, child care, urban agriculture, home-based businesses, short-term rental by a resident

Smallest lot for a subdivision

Areas A and B: 350 m² (400 m² on a corner), 13 m wide (15 m on a corner), 27 m deep, a 140 m² building envelope; Area C: 1,400 m², 30 m wide and deep; 2,750 m² for a lot reached only from Lakeshore Road (ss. 13.4, 13.6)

Lot coverage

65% for buildings; 85% for buildings, structures and hard surfaces (s. 13.5)

Height limit

Area A: 18 m and 4 storeys, 1.55 FAR; Areas B and C: 22 m and 6 storeys, 2.05 FAR; houses, duplexes and townhouses 11 m and 3 storeys; accessory buildings 4.8 m (s. 13.6)

Setbacks

Front and flanking 3 m (2 m for commercial ground floors, and for ground-oriented homes whose first floor is at most 1.2 m above the curb, at least 11 m², behind a sidewalk and treed boulevard; a garage, carport or parkade door facing the street 6 m from the curb or sidewalk or 3 m from the lot line, whichever is more); sides 3 m; rear 4.5 m (3 m beside a rear lane); 1.5 m more on the sides (and for accessory buildings at the rear) next to land the OCP designates rural or suburban residential; accessory buildings 1.5 m from the rear (0.9 m beside a lane). A development of 3 storeys or less with 6 homes or fewer follows MF1's rules (s. 13.5)

Heritage conservation area

None over the lot on the Province's list of local heritage conservation areas (a newly designated one may not be listed yet, and single buildings protected by a heritage bylaw aren't on it)

Development permit areas

Floodplain development permit area and Form and Character development permit area (per the City of Kelowna's map)

Fewest homes provincial law requires

Doesn't set a floor here as far as we can tell: the TS1 zone (Transit Supportive Corridors) isn't limited to houses and duplexes (inferred from its name), and the provincial floor applies only in zones that are.

Transit-oriented area (provincial minimum)

Not in one as we read it: the nearest prescribed station, Hospital Exchange (a bus exchange), is about 510 m from the lot, past the 400 m the Province sets for it. Our measure from the regulation's station points (B.C. Reg. 263/2023), checked 2026-10-06.

Short-term rentals (provincial rule)

The Province's principal residence requirement doesn't apply in Kelowna (list in force from June 1, 2026), so the provincial rule doesn't limit short-term rentals to the host's home. Local bylaws, including the zone's own rules, can be stricter. Hosts anywhere in BC register each unit with the provincial registry.

Where Figure 13.5.a marks the frontage "Commercial Required", commercial uses fill at least 65% of the ground floor along the corridor (s. 13.5).

Buildings of 5 storeys or more with over 60 m of frontage step back 3 m above the first storey along 75% of the front (s. 13.5 note .6); a continuous frontage is at most 100 m.

Floor area adjustments: +0.3 FAR with the 'r' rental-only sub-zone, +0.25 FAR when 80% of the parking is underground.

Shared and private outdoor space (s. 13.5): none for 10 homes or fewer; for 11 to 20 homes 6 m² per studio, 10 m² per one-bedroom and 15 m² per larger home; for more than 20, 7.5, 15 and 25 m²; at least 4 m² a home shared (not for fee simple townhouses); 75 m² of it indoors in an apartment building of 25 homes or more.

Group homes only in a house, semi-detached home or duplex (s. 13.3 note .1).

Secondary suites only in houses, semi-detached homes and townhouses, up to 90 m² (s. 13.3 note .9).

A major home-based business is allowed only in a ground-oriented home on a transit supportive corridor or in an urban or village centre (s. 13.3 note .6).

On a lot fronting a Transit Supportive Corridor (and TS1 Area C lots) a minimum density applies: 4.75 homes per 1,000 m² on a lot of at least 1,050 m² with a lane, or 3.1 per 1,000 m² on at least 1,400 m² without; commercial floor counts as one home per 125 m² (s. 13.6).

A cannabis store stands 500 m from another, 150 m from public elementary schools and from 21 listed parks (City Park, Waterfront Park and others), 500 m from public middle and secondary schools; one per lot; no drive-through (s. 9.9).

Parking (Table 8.3): minimums per main home depend on location. Outside the Core Area and away from frequent or medium transit, 1.25 spaces for a studio or one-bedroom home, 1.5 for two bedrooms and 2 for three or more; less in the Core Area and urban centres and near frequent transit; 0.14 visitor spaces per home from the seventh home; no residential minimum in a Transit Oriented Area (Maps 8.3.a to 8.3.d).

With 6 homes or fewer in 3 storeys or less, parking is 1 space per home (Table 8.3 note .16).

A boarding or lodging house is one household of up to 10 people in a ground-oriented home, run by the owner or a manager; short-term rental isn't allowed in it (s. 5.3).

Short-term rental (stays under 90 days, s. 5.3) is allowed as a minor use only: run by a principal resident who lives in the home more than 240 days a year (a suite or carriage house by a resident of the same lot); one booking per home at a time; up to three bedrooms of two adults each; on a lot with a house and a suite or carriage house, at most two homes and five bedrooms let this way (s. 9.10).

With the 'str' sub-zone, short-term rental without a resident operator (major) is a permitted use too; a lot with the 'r' rental-only sub-zone can't have it (s. 9.10).

Home-based businesses (s. 9.2) are run by a resident who lives there more than 240 days a year, with no outdoor storage or work, no nuisance and no commercial vehicle over 5,500 kg. Minor: inside the home, residents only, one client at a time, up to 20 m² and 25% of the home. Major: in the home or one accessory building, one outside worker, two clients at a time, up to 50 m² and 25% of the home (no fixed cap, but at most half the home, in a ground-oriented home on a transit supportive corridor or in an urban or village centre); one parking space.

Child care for up to 8 children (minor) is run by a resident who lives there more than 240 days a year (s. 5.3).

On a lot with three or more homes beside a watercourse or riparian area, the riparian management area (OCP Table 21.1) is dedicated to the City, plus 5 m where an OCP trail runs alongside.

A lot on a Transit Supportive Corridor, major arterial or active transportation corridor may have to give land for road widening to half the width set by Bylaw No. 7900 (s. 13.5).

Accessory buildings may have one half bathroom of up to 3 m² (a full one only in a pool house) and no bedroom, and can't be a home (s. 6.9).

Accessory buildings: at most 90 m² of footprint each, 4.8 m tall.

Fences up to 2.0 m, but 1.2 m within the front and flanking setbacks (3.0 m on the low side of a slope if no more than 2.0 m above the neighbour's ground); no barbed or razor wire; within 1.4 m of a building, not wood or vinyl (s. 7.5).

Every home given a parking space gets an energized outlet for Level 2 charging (75% fewer with the 'r' rental-only sub-zone; not needed for suites or carriage houses) (s. 8.2.17).

On a lot beside Highway 97 or Highway 33, buildings and structures stand 4.5 m from that lot line (s. 6.4).

Setbacks from streams and lakes are those of the official community plan's riparian management areas, measured from the top of bank (s. 6.5).

Site-specific (s. 13.7, zone not named), on named lots: hotels on Enterprise Way; 16 storeys on Bernard Avenue; apartments of up to 4 storeys on Caramillo Court and in the MF2 part of one lot on Cara Glen Way, 3 storeys on Quartz Crescent; three storeys of apartments over two of townhouses on Denali Drive; smaller minimum lots on Rutland Road North (770 m²), Richter Street (650 m² and 601 m²) and Lakeshore Road (1,700 m²); health services on Lombardy Square.

Sections 6 to 9 of the bylaw (general rules, landscaping and fences, parking, specific uses) also apply.

Our summary of Section 13 of City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw No. 12375, consolidated to 2026-05-05. Site-specific exceptions listed in the bylaw by legal description can add or change uses for one property.

Zoning is only one layer: development permit areas, the official community plan, the ALR, building and septic permits and provincial housing rules can add limits or allow more. Confirm with the City of Kelowna's planning department before you buy or build.

In a development permit area, building, clearing or subdividing usually needs a development permit first, with conditions from that area's guidelines (a geotechnical or environmental report, wildfire-resistant materials, setbacks from water). The areas are the City of Kelowna's own maps, read over points spread across the lot; one that only grazes the lot line can still apply. Ask the City of Kelowna what a permit here would require.

The provincial floor is our summary of the small-scale multi-unit housing rules in the Local Government Act (ss. 481.3 and 481.4) and the Local Government Zoning Bylaw Regulation, checked 2026-10-04. Local governments had to bring their bylaws in line by June 30, 2024, and with the 2025 changes by June 30, 2026, so the zone's own rules usually allow at least these homes already; height, coverage, setbacks and parking still decide how they fit. Whether the lot is inside an urban containment boundary, on community water or sewer, or near a frequent bus stop isn't checked here: confirm with the local government before you buy or build.

Clear of steep slope and water setbacks

710 m² (100%)

In or within 30 m of mapped water

0%

Steeper than 30%, outside that strip

0%

15 to 30% slope

0%

On designated floodplain (counted as clear)

0%

Median slope

2%

Main slope direction

Mostly flat (slopes under 5%); measured by us on NRCan's lidar elevation model (Okanagan survey, 2018; 2 m grid)

Which way it faces

2% south (SE to SW), 0% north (NW to NE), 82% flat; the rest east or west

Terrain stability (Province's map)

The Province's terrain stability mapping doesn't cover this lot: it was mapped from air photos, mostly on forest land, so most towns and farmland aren't on it. That says nothing either way about the ground's stability

Estimated by us on Natural Resources Canada's lidar elevation model, from the Okanagan survey (2018): bare ground with buildings and trees taken out, read here on a 2 m grid, one dot on the plan per cell. Retaining walls, road cuts and ditches count as steep ground, and earthworks since the survey aren't shown. Slopes over 30% usually need a geotechnical engineer's report to build on; 15 to 30% is buildable with more work.

Not counted: zoning setbacks from the lot lines, room for a septic field and well (the Septic section screens for a field), easements and rights of way, and the local government's development permit areas: here the Floodplain development permit area (per the City of Kelowna, listed under What you can build), whose guidelines can limit where and how you build. A surveyor and the local government confirm where you can build.

December 21 (shortest day)

7 h 10 min of possible direct sun; 7 h 50 min on open ground

March 21 (about the same on September 21)

11 h 30 min; 12 h on open ground

June 21 (longest day)

15 h 10 min; 16 h 10 min on open ground

Noon sun on December 21

17° above level; the hills due south rise to 4°, 12.7 km away

Highest hills in the winter sun's path

5° above level to the south-east, 13.7 km away

Measured at

The middle of the lot, ground at about 346 m, from head height

Solar panel output (south-facing, tilted at the latitude)

About 1,010 kWh a year for each kW of panels (December about 31), on Natural Resources Canada's 1998-2022 sunshine map; the sun on the panel's face is 3.68 kWh/m² a day over the year, 1.32 in December

Water the ground lets you see (16 km)

Okanagan Lake to the west, from about 850 m away, across about 165° of the horizon; Mission Creek to the east, from about 3 km away, across about 25° of the horizon

Highest skyline

6° above level to the northwest, 9.9 km away

Named peaks in view (150 km)

Mount Eneas to the southwest, 28 km away (about 1,077 m); Mount Miller to the west, 20 km away (about 1,203 m); Mount Dilworth to the northeast, 5.3 km away (about 609 m)

Highest ground in view

About 1,967 m, to the south-southeast, 22 km away

Farthest ground in view

About 49 km to the southwest

Most relief in one direction

To the south-southeast: from about 345 m, 0.2 km away, up to about 1,967 m, 22 km away

Town centres in line of sight

None within 150 km, over the bare ground

City lights in direct line (150 km)

In direct line (our reading): the lights of Kelowna to the east-northeast, 4.4 km (161 nW/cm²/sr at the brightest in line, like a city centre)

Computed by us from the terrain only: trees, buildings and cloud aren't counted, so the sun that reaches a window or a garden is often less. The hours are possible direct sun, counted from when the sun's centre clears the hills, at head height at the middle of the lot; another spot on a hillside lot can differ.

The horizon is read from Natural Resources Canada's 30 m elevation model in 72 directions, out to 16 km: on its 30 m grid within 1.5 km, beyond that on a 120 m version of it, where single peaks can read a little lower than they are. The curve of the earth is taken into account.

The sun's path is from the standard solar position formulas. Hours are counted in sun time; clock times shift with daylight saving and with how far the lot is from its time zone's centre.

Check it on site: visit on a clear day in December or January, look at where the trees and buildings to the south fall, and ask neighbours when the sun leaves and comes back.

The panel output is our reading of Natural Resources Canada's figures: its map gives the sun reaching a south-facing panel tilted at the latitude, averaged over 1998-2022 on a grid of about 10 km, and we turn it into kWh for each kW of panels at the performance ratio its Photovoltaic Potential maps use (0.75: losses in heat, wiring, the inverter and dirt). The map is for an open sky: the hills around the lot, trees, buildings and snow on the panels aren't counted. The hills around this lot take about 8% of the direct sun on December 21 and about 6% on June 21 (our figure above), so a panel at the lot's middle would most likely make less than this, most of all in winter (our reading; the hills block direct sun, not all the light). A solar installer measures the roof or the spot itself.

What the ground allows you to see from head height at the middle of the lot, read by us on the same elevation model as the sun hours, out to 16 km: trees, buildings and the house's own spot and height aren't counted, so a view the ground allows can be hidden by the forest, and a second storey can see over a rise. Lakes and rivers are the Freshwater Atlas's; the sea is read where the elevation model sits at sea level.

Peaks, towns and the farthest ground are read by us out to 150 km on the same elevation model, coarser past 16 km (cells of 240 m to 60 km, 480 m beyond), with the curve of the earth and the usual bending of light: summits read lower than they are at that scale, so a peak only counts when it clears the ground before it, and one at the very edge of the skyline may be left out. It's what the bare ground allows on a perfectly clear day: haze, smoke, cloud, trees and buildings aren't counted. Peak names are BC Geographical Names'; peaks outside BC aren't named.

City lights in direct line are our reading: the satellite's lit cells (15 nW/cm²/sr and up, the brightness of a town centre or more) within 150 km, each named after the nearest town centre within 8 km, and a town counted when one of its brightest cells, taken 10 m above the ground, clears the bare ground before it on the same elevation model as the long view. It says where lights are in a straight line, not how bright they look: the glow a town throws over a ridge isn't modelled, so a town behind the hills can still light the sky above them, and haze, trees and buildings aren't counted.

Fires on the parcel

0

Fires within 2 km

1

Within 2 km in the last 30 years

0

Most recent nearby

1934 (2 ha, caused by people)

Largest nearby

1934 (2 ha, caused by people)

Causes on record within 2 km

1 caused by people

Natural fire regime (the Province's ecosystem map)

NDT4, frequent stand-maintaining fires: grassland and dry open forest that burned often and lightly, with surface fires every 4 to 50 years in the Ponderosa Pine and Interior Douglas-fir zones and fires that replace the whole stand rare

Biogeoclimatic unit

Ponderosa Pine zone, very dry hot subzone, Okanagan variant (PPxh1)

Fire perimeters mapped by the BC Wildfire Service since 1919, each with its size and the cause the Service recorded (lightning or people, sometimes unknown); older and small fires are less complete. Past fire is history, not a forecast: for insurance, ask about the fire protection area and the distance to the nearest fire hall.

The natural disturbance type is how the forest here burned, blew down or otherwise renewed itself before logging and fire suppression, from the Province's biogeoclimatic map and its Biodiversity Guidebook (1995). It describes the land around the lot over centuries, not the lot's own fire risk or the odds of a fire in any year; the Province's fire threat rating and fuel maps aren't open data. Our summary, checked 2026-10-11.

In NDT4's dry forest and grassland, the guidebook notes that decades of putting fires out have let many Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir stands fill in with young trees, building up fuel and raising the chance of a crown fire instead of a light surface fire. FireSmart work around a home (thinning, pruning, clearing what burns near the house) answers to exactly that.

Peak ground acceleration, 2% in 50 years (the code's design level)

0.089 g

Peak ground acceleration, 10% in 50 years

0.036 g

Short-period shaking Sa(0.2), the value the code uses for houses and other low buildings

0.20 g

Peak ground acceleration, 2% in 50 years, on softer ground

0.11 g on stiff soil (site class D), 0.12 g on soft soil, about 30% more than on firm ground

The same value in city centres

Victoria 0.81 g, Vancouver 0.47 g, Kelowna 0.089 g, Prince George 0.064 g

Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more recorded since 1985

6 within 50 km and 37 within 100 km

Largest within 100 km

M4.5 in August 2002, about 60 km away (NRCan: 56 km NNE of Princeton, BC)

Nearest of magnitude 3 or more

M3.8 in November 2025, about 20 km away (NRCan: 15 km S of West Kelowna, BC, felt)

Tsunami

More than 2 km from the ocean shore, so the Province's tsunami notification zones, which are for the coast, don't bear on it

These are the 2020 National Building Code's reference values at the lot's centre, on firm ground (site class C), with the values the code gives stiff soil (D) and soft soil (E) beside them. Which class the lot's ground is isn't on any open map: the site class and the values a building is designed for come from the building official or a geotechnical engineer. Very soft ground, peat or fill that can liquefy (site class F) needs a site-specific assessment.

2% in 50 years means shaking at least this strong has about a 1-in-2,500 chance in any year; 10% in 50 years, about 1 in 475. g is the acceleration of gravity. The comparison with Vancouver and the other cities is ours.

Liquefaction and earthquake-triggered landslides aren't covered here; ask the local government whether it has mapped them.

Past earthquakes are those Natural Resources Canada's National Earthquake Database records within 100 km of the lot's middle since 1985, the start of its digital record, at magnitude 2.5 and up; blasts, mining events (tremors set off in a mine) and slides are left out. The seismograph network has grown much denser since then, so smaller quakes found today would have gone unrecorded in the 1980s, and positions are good to a few kilometres. A count of past quakes isn't a measure of the hazard: the building code's values above are.

On record on the lot or within 100 m

0

On record within 1 km

0

On record within 5 km

13

Nearest

3.4 km from the lot: an earth slide, date not recorded (listed under “Historic Royal View Drive landslide”)

Kinds within 5 km

earth slide 7, rock fall 4, earth fall 1, rock irregular slide 1

With a date

2 of 13; the latest Jan 2021 (earth slide, 3.8 km from the lot)

This is a list of landslides that are known to have happened, gathered from published inventories and from mapping on satellite images and lidar. It isn't a hazard map: it doesn't say how likely a slide is here, and no record nearby doesn't mean the ground is stable. Some parts of BC (the Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon, Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, recent burn areas) are mapped in far more detail than others.

Each point mostly marks where a slide started. Debris can travel well past it, down a creek channel and onto the fan at the creek's mouth, so a lot on a fan or below a steep slope can be reached by a slide that began kilometres away. Distances are measured by us from the lot's boundary.

The kind of slide and its date are the database's own, mostly worked out from images, so treat them as a first look. Confirm with the local government, many of which have mapped steep-slope or debris-flow hazard areas, and with a geotechnical engineer.

Health region (regional figure, not this lot)

Okanagan

Homes tested here

109

At or above 200 Bq/m³ (the guideline)

19 (17%)

At or above 600 Bq/m³

3

Across BC

143 of 1,817 homes (7.9%) at or above the guideline

Radon comes up from the ground and differs from one house to the next, even next door, so a regional figure says nothing certain about one home. The only way to know is a long-term test of at least 3 months. Health Canada's guideline is 200 Bq/m³ in the parts of a home where people spend more than 4 hours a day; above it, fix it within a year, and the higher the level, the sooner. For a home you buy, Health Canada suggests a long-term test once you've moved in.

The survey tested about a hundred volunteer homes per health region, with one long-term test each. That gives a rough regional picture: it isn't a map, and a region where few or none tested high can still have homes above the guideline. The survey grouped homes by the 2007 health regions; we place the lot by today's boundaries for the same areas.

Open sites (active or suspected) within 500 m

0

Open sites within 2 km

0

Closed sites within 2 km

1

Government of Canada Building - Kelowna

2 km from the lot. Closed: no further action needed. Found or suspected: petroleum hydrocarbons, PAHs and other organics in soil and groundwater. Confirmatory sampling completed. No further action required. Federal custodian: Public Services and Procurement Canada; site 18638001.

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) sites DND lists for this place

One site we place in Kelowna by name (our reading): Kelowna- Lake Okanagan Manhattan Point (in assessment). DND publishes no locations, so whether one reaches the lot is unclear: ask DND (uxocanada@forces.gc.ca).

This inventory lists only contaminated sites on federal land or that the federal government is responsible for: military land, ports and harbours, airports, fisheries and research stations, reserve land, national parks and similar. Most contaminated sites in BC, such as old gas stations, dry cleaners and industrial land, are on the Province's Site Registry, which charges for searches and isn't shown here. Ask the seller what the land and its neighbours were used for; a Phase I environmental site assessment covers it properly.

Each site is one point given by its federal custodian, and a large site such as a base or an airport reaches well past it. Distances are measured by us from the lot's boundary to that point.

Closed means the custodian found no further action needed after testing, cleanup or risk management; it doesn't always mean nothing is left in the ground. The priority class is the federal ranking of its own sites for funding and action, not a measure of risk to neighbours.

DND's list gives each site's name, province and status only: no map, outline or coordinates. So a report can't say whether a site reaches a lot; we place each site in a place by the name DND gives it (our reading), and a site named for a town may lie outside its limits. If you see something that could be UXO, don't touch it: remember where it is, leave the area and call 911 or the local police. DND asks anyone planning to build, demolish, work the ground or extract resources in a former military area to contact it first; some work needs UXO-qualified people on site or on call. (Our summary of DND's UXO pages, read 2026-10-13.)

Confirm with the local government and a qualified environmental professional.

Roads along the parcel

Francis Avenue (local road); an unnamed lane or service road

Nearest public road

Along the parcel

Who maintains the road

No road within 100 m of the lot is on the Ministry of Transportation's inventory, so the roads along it are the City of Kelowna's streets (or private), and the City of Kelowna clears its own streets in winter.

Snow clearing priority

Francis Avenue is Priority 3 (per the City of Kelowna's Snow Removal Priority map, read 2026-10-15)

ParcelMap BC records this lot as part of a strata plan (KAS1005). Roads inside a strata are usually common property that the owners maintain through strata fees, and the map shows them like any other road. The strata plan, its bylaws and the strata's records say who owns and maintains each road and how the strata reaches a public road.

Worked out by us from OpenStreetMap road lines: a road whose centreline is within 25 m of the lot line is counted as running along it. The map isn't proof of legal access: a road can be private, unbuilt or not maintained in winter, and reaching a lot across someone else's land needs a registered easement. The title search and the local government (or the Ministry of Transportation outside towns) confirm both.

The City of Kelowna clears its streets in priority order, Priority 1 first; roads marked MOH on its map are the Province's. The priority is the City's plan for an ordinary snowfall: in a big storm, or with crews short, a street can wait longer.

Nearest sampled lake

Okanagan Lake, about 590 m

Readings on record

1973 to 2026, 53 sampling sites

Depth

Deepest point about 242 m (surveyed 1966); mean depth about 75 m, from the Province's lake surveys (the latest with a depth)

Measured by us from the Freshwater Atlas outline of the lake to the parcel map's lot line; it says nothing about a way down to the water, which the title, the strata or the local government can answer. The lake's clarity and nutrient record, compared with other BC lakes, is on its page.

Algae bloom reports and invasive mussel checks aren't in this record: the province's Algae Watch map and mussel monitoring aren't published as open data. For swimming, check the regional health authority's beach advisories; for blooms and mussels, ask the province's regional environment office or the local lake association.

At-risk species or ecosystems on the parcel

None recorded

Within 500 m

black cottonwood / common snowberry - roses (Red-listed)

Wide-ranging species mapped over it

American Badger (Red-listed)

Secured records in the wider area

No

Wildlife Habitat Area over the parcel

No

Ungulate winter range over the parcel

mule deer

Proposed Wildlife Habitat Area over the parcel

No

Proposed ungulate winter range over the parcel

No

Federal critical habitat over the lot

Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee (site: Kelowna, South Mission; a wide area, up to 31,412 ha)

Federal critical habitat placed by grid square

Great Basin Gophersnake: somewhere in the 10 km square that takes in the lot, not mapped closer

Sensitive ecosystems mapped on the lot

None: the inventory maps no sensitive ecosystem on the lot

Sensitive ecosystem mapping

Kelowna SEI (1:20,000)

Invasive plants recorded on the lot

None on the Province's list

Invasive plants recorded within 100 m

None on the Province's list

Red-listed species are at risk of being lost from BC; Blue-listed are of special concern. A record shows where the species was found, sometimes decades ago; no record doesn't mean nothing lives here, since most land has never been surveyed.

Wildlife Habitat Areas and ungulate winter ranges are set under the Forest and Range Practices Act and mainly limit logging and range use on Crown land; on private land they don't stop building by themselves, but they show what uses the land.

Federal critical habitat is the habitat a recovery strategy or action plan under the Species at Risk Act says a listed species needs to survive or recover (ss. 2, 41). On federal land the Act protects it by order (s. 58). On private and provincial land the Act leans on provincial and local law first; the federal Cabinet can order it protected where that falls short (s. 61). The Act's bans on harming a listed species or its residence apply everywhere for aquatic species and migratory birds, and elsewhere on private land only under a federal order (ss. 32 to 34). Our summary, read 2026-10-12.

Critical habitat for some sensitive species is kept off the public map; Environment and Climate Change Canada's Species at Risk Public Registry has each species' recovery strategy.

Species at risk can still limit building through local environmental development permit areas: ask the local government before planning work.

The Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory maps rare and fragile ecosystems from air photos, mostly at 1:20,000, some checked on the ground; a polygon often holds a mix of ecosystems, and the land may have changed since the photos were taken. It's a planning tool, not a site assessment. Councils in the Okanagan, on east Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and elsewhere draw environmental development permit areas from it, so ask the local government whether one covers the lot, and a qualified environmental professional what is on the ground. Our summary, checked 2026-10-11.

The Province's records come from invasive plant surveys, mostly since 2022, along roads, trails and shores and wherever crews were sent; no record doesn't mean no invasive plants. A record marks where a plant was found that day; it may since have been treated.

Cutblocks applied for (1 km)

0

Approved, not yet logged (1 km)

0

Logged in the last 5 years (1 km)

0

Crown land applications (1 km)

strata moorage (2), private moorage (2), sewer or effluent line

Quarry, industry, energy or tower tenures (500 m)

None

Local development applications

Not covered here: we read applications only where the local government publishes them as open data (the CSRD, the City of Surrey, the City of Abbotsford and the District of Squamish). Ask the City of Kelowna what's in progress on and near the lot

Nearest power line (200 m)

About 40 m from the lot line

Power lines within 200 m

On the Province's map: a line, about 40 m away. On OpenStreetMap: 138 kV, FortisBC, about 40 m away

Oil and gas pipelines (200 m)

None within 200 m on the BC Energy Regulator's permit map

Permitted discharges to air, water and land (2 km)

A vehicle or machinery plant, about 760 m from the lot line, may discharge to air, under a permit (authorization 13794, 1996); A sewage treatment or discharge, about 890 m from the lot line (position given to about 100 m), may discharge to water or land (effluent), under an operational certificate (authorization 12211, 1994)

Military land (2 km)

unnamed military land, about 1,750 m from the lot line

Major projects in assessment (10 km)

None

Major projects approved (10 km)

None

Reviewed, no assessment needed (10 km)

None

Closed or not reviewable (10 km)

None

Cutblocks are from the province's forest tenure records, which cover Crown forest licences and woodlots, not logging on private land. Crown land applications are on the province's tenure register; the Applications, Comments and Reasons for Decision site takes public comments on them. Mineral and placer claims are in their own section above.

Major projects are those large enough to need a provincial environmental assessment: mines, power plants, pipelines, transmission lines, highways, ports, dams and resorts, among others. Each is on the Environmental Assessment Office's register at a single point, the location it gives for the project. A mine, pipeline, transmission line or road can reach well past that point, so a project listed 8 km away can still pass the lot, and one placed beyond 10 km isn't listed here. Each project's page on the EAO's site has its maps, documents and comment periods; distances are measured by us from the lot line to the point. Smaller projects (subdivisions, smaller pits and quarries, and other works under the assessment thresholds) aren't on this register.

Power lines are from two maps read together: the Province's map of high-voltage transmission lines (BC Hydro's, private and independent producers' lines), which leaves voltages out, and OpenStreetMap, where volunteers map lines and record the voltage where it's known. Smaller distribution lines along streets aren't included. Distances are measured by us from the lot line to the mapped line, which can sit some metres off the real one. The line's right of way, and what it lets the line's owner do on the land, is set by the easement on title, which is the definitive record: check it in the title search, and ask BC Hydro (or the line's owner) about clearances for building and trees.

Permitted discharges are from the Province's list of active waste discharge authorizations under the Environmental Management Act: permits, approvals and operational certificates, and sites registered under its regulations and codes of practice (sewage, fuel storage, vehicle recycling, concrete, asphalt, composting and others). Each is one point the Province gives for the site, which can be a plant's office or an outfall rather than the ground worked; distances are measured by us from the lot line to that point. Metro Vancouver issues its own air quality permits, which aren't on this list, and the Province's Site Registry of contaminated sites charges for searches and isn't shown here.

An authorization sets what may be discharged, how much and on what conditions; it doesn't mean the site is out of compliance. The Province's Authorization Management System search shows each authorization's documents by its number. Odour, dust and noise are often for the local government too: ask the regional district or city, and the Province's environmental protection office about the authorization.

Military land is OpenStreetMap's landuse=military, mapped by volunteers: bases, firing ranges, training areas and armouries. An outline can be rough, and land the Department of National Defence holds can be missing from it. A range or training area nearby can mean firing or exercise noise and closed ground at times; the base's public affairs office can say when it's used. Old training ground the Department lists for unexploded ordnance is under Federal contaminated sites.

Nearest railway (2 km)

None mapped within 2 km

Nearest highway or major road (2 km)

Harvey Avenue (Highway 97), a highway, about 1.5 km from the lot line

Nearest airport or airstrip (2 km)

None mapped within 2 km

Light at night (within 1 km, 2024)

28 nW/cm²/sr, like a town centre or a city suburb, as around Nelson, Smithers or Salmon Arm (our reading); brighter than about 64% of BC's homes. The brightest spot within 5 km is about 4.4 km east-northeast of the lot's middle, at 161.

Distances only, not a measured noise level; noise depends on traffic, trains per day and terrain. Measured by us in a straight line from the lot line to the mapped centreline of the track or road, or to the edge of an airport's mapped grounds (to its point where only a point is mapped); a mapped line can sit some metres off the real one.

Railways are OpenStreetMap's track in use: main, branch and industrial lines, sidings and yards, and rapid transit; lines mapped as disused or abandoned, and track in tunnels, are left out. "Main line" is how OpenStreetMap's mappers class the line. Highways and major roads are the roads OpenStreetMap classes as motorway (a freeway), trunk (a highway) or primary (a major road). Airports and airstrips are every aerodrome OpenStreetMap maps, public or private, with its type where mapped; heliports aren't included. Airport noise exposure maps (the NEF contours some airports draw) aren't open data, so they aren't used.

Visit at rush hour and at night, ask the seller how often trains pass, and confirm with the local government whether a noise bylaw, a development permit area or an airport zoning regulation covers the lot. For a railway, the railway company or Transport Canada can say how many trains use the line; for an airport, ask the airport about flight paths.

Light at night is what the VIIRS satellite records looking down at about 1:30 a.m., averaged over the cloud-free nights of 2024, with fires, the northern lights and other passing light left out (the Earth Observation Group's yearly composite); its cells are about 460 m by 300 m in BC. We give the median of the cells within 1 km of the lot's middle, in nanowatts per square centimetre per steradian (rounded to whole numbers), set against the same figure at BC's homes (Statistics Canada's 2021 dwellings on ISED's points) and named after places that read alike (our reading). It is light going up, not how dark the sky looks from the ground: a nearby town's glow on the horizon, the moon, a neighbour's yard light and the trees aren't in it, and it says nothing of light at other hours. For stargazing, look at the sky from the lot on a clear, moonless night. This product was made utilizing VIIRS Nighttime Lights data produced by the Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines.

Community water

In the City of Kelowna's water supply area, at the lot's middle (per the City of Kelowna's Water Utility Boundary map, read 2026-10-15)

Wells within 2 km

10

Median depth

43 m

Median tested yield

189 L/min (5 wells tested)

Median water level below ground

2 m

Aquifer 464 under the lot

Greater Kelowna Aquifer: confined sand and gravel (glacial); productivity high, vulnerability low, demand low; 322 wells linked, median depth 41.1 m

Aquifer 467 under the lot

Mission Creek Aquifer: unconfined sand and gravel (small stream system); productivity high, vulnerability high, demand moderate; 335 wells linked, median depth 6.7 m

Observation well 262

in aquifer 464, 4.9 km from the lot's middle: water level stable or no clear trend over 2014 to 2023; stable or no clear trend over 1980 to 2023; water typically 51 m below ground in a well 84 m deep (the Province's trend, records to December 2023)

Observation well 236

in aquifer 464, 6.4 km from the lot's middle: water level stable or no clear trend over 2014 to 2023; stable or no clear trend over 1979 to 2023; water typically 19 m below ground in a well 43 m deep (the Province's trend, records to December 2023)

Groundwater tested 4.9 km away

At the Province's observation well 262, in aquifer 464, under the lot: within Health Canada's limits, in mg/L (medians): arsenic under detection, fluoride 0.11, manganese 0.0056, uranium 0.0049, nitrate (as nitrogen) 7.3, lead 0.000076; up to 2 samples, 2016 to 2018. Not this lot's water: test your own well.

Groundwater tested 6.4 km away

At the Province's observation well 236, in aquifer 464, under the lot: uranium median 0.02 mg/L, 2 of 5 samples over the 0.02 mg/L limit; within Health Canada's limits, in mg/L (medians): arsenic 0.00071, fluoride 0.44, manganese 0.0032, nitrate (as nitrogen) 1.9, lead 0.00005; manganese over the 0.02 mg/L taste and staining level in 1 of 6 samples; up to 6 samples, 2001 to 2019. Not this lot's water: test your own well.

Groundwater tested 6.5 km away

At the Province's observation well 413, in aquifer 464, under the lot: within Health Canada's limits, in mg/L (medians): arsenic under detection, fluoride 0.068, manganese 0.006, uranium 0.00088, nitrate (as nitrogen) 2.3, lead under detection; up to 2 samples, 2016 to 2018. Not this lot's water: test your own well.

More wells tested

1 more within 10 km in the Province's records, farther away or in another aquifer

Drinking-water protection zone

None over the lot on the Province's map (it holds only the zones a water system's protection plan has mapped, so many wells and intakes have none on it)

Water systems' wells and intakes within 300 m

None on the Province's list

Community watershed

None over the lot on the Province's map

Neighbours' wells show what drillers found nearby, not what a new well here will find; many wells were never registered. For a property on a well, ask for a recent flow test and water quality test.

Productivity is how much water the aquifer gives up to wells; vulnerability is how easily a spill at the surface could reach it; both are the province's ratings for the whole aquifer, not this lot. Mapped aquifers cover mostly settled valleys: a lot outside every outline can still have groundwater. Confirm with a qualified hydrogeologist or registered well driller.

Observation wells are the Province's monitoring wells, their water level measured for years or decades. The trend is the Province's reading of one well's yearly levels: a decline of 3 to 10 cm a year that the record clearly shows is a moderate rate, 10 cm or more a large one, anything not clear is stable or no clear trend. It shows how the aquifer has behaved there, not what a well on this lot will give; confirm with a qualified hydrogeologist or registered well driller.

These are samples of raw water, before any treatment, from wells in the Province's environmental monitoring records since 2000: its observation wells and groundwater surveys, water systems' wells and other drinking-water wells; wells at landfills, mines and permit holders' works are left out. A result below the lab's detection limit counts at that limit. Lead mostly comes from a well's pipes and fittings rather than the aquifer. Groundwater changes over short distances and with depth, so a nearby well says what the aquifer can hold, not what a well on this lot gives. Bacteria aren't shown: they depend on how each well is built and kept.

Health Canada's Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality set the most a drinking water should hold: arsenic 0.010 mg/L, fluoride 1.5 mg/L, manganese 0.12 mg/L (and 0.02 mg/L for taste and for staining laundry and fixtures), uranium 0.02 mg/L, nitrate 10 mg/L as nitrogen (45 mg/L as nitrate) and lead 0.005 mg/L, with arsenic and lead kept as low as reasonably achievable. Our summary of Health Canada's summary table, read 2026-10-11.

Test your own well, for bacteria and these, at an accredited lab; your health authority can say which labs take samples from private wells.

The City's map shows which utility supplies water in each part of the city: the City, or an improvement district.

City sewer main

Along the lot line (per the City of Kelowna's Sanitary Main map, read 2026-10-15)

Recorded water-supply wells within 30 m

None recorded within 30 m

Mapped water within 30 m

None mapped

Within the setbacks, under 15% slope (gravity fields, mounds and trenches)

420 m² (59%)

Within the setbacks, under 25% slope (mounds, at-grade beds and trenches)

420 m² (59%)

Within the setbacks, under 45% slope (trenches)

420 m² (59%)

Screening, not a site assessment: measured by us on the same elevation cells as the buildable area, against the separations in the Province's Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual: a field stays 30 m from a drinking-water well (60 to 90 m from a high-pumping one), 30 m from a lake, river or permanent stream (15 m from seasonal water and the sea), 7.5 m from a downslope drain or bank where effluent could break out, and, as a guideline, 3 m from the lot line. We use 30 m for every mapped stream. A gravity field isn't allowed on slopes over 15%, a mound or at-grade bed over 25%, and trenches over 45%.

Under the Sewerage System Regulation, only an Authorized Person (a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner or a professional engineer or geoscientist) may plan and install a system, and they file the plans with the regional health authority before work starts. They dig test pits to check the soil depth and the seasonal water table and measure how fast the soil drains, which no open map shows. Ask the seller for the filing and maintenance records of an existing system, and have it inspected.

Well locations in GWELLS are often approximate, and many wells were never registered: look for well caps on and next to the lot. Wells, water lines and septic fields on the neighbours' land count too.

On a community sewer, a septic field isn't usually needed: the screening above is kept in case one ever is. The local government may also require a lot near its sewer to connect.

A main within 30 m of the lot line is our reading of the city's pipe map: a lot beside one is usually connected or can connect, but whether it is, and at what cost, is the city's to confirm.

Nearest hospital

Kelowna General Hospital: 500 m

Next nearest hospital

Penticton Regional Hospital: 44 km

Nearest emergency department

Kelowna General Hospital: 500 m. Hours on HealthLink BC's list: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Nearest walk-in clinic

Orchard Medical Centre, Kelowna: 3.3 km. Hours on HealthLink BC's list: Mon to Fri 08:00 to 15:00. Note that hours are subject to physician availability and patient volume. Statutory holiday hours: 09:00 - 13:00

Nearest pharmacy

Rx Drug Mart Kelowna: 500 m. Hours on HealthLink BC's list: Mon to Fri 09:00 to 18:00, Sat 09:00 to 17:00. Closed statutory holidays

Nearest late-night or 24-hour pharmacy

Shoppers Drug Mart, Kelowna: 1.4 km. Hours on HealthLink BC's list: Mon to Sun 08:00 to 22:00

School catchment

Not mapped for this lot: catchments are shown only where the school district's boundaries are open data, for Surrey Schools (Surrey and White Rock) and the North Vancouver School District (the City and District of North Vancouver). Ask the school district which schools serve it.

Nearest public elementary school

Raymer Elementary, Kelowna: 500 m

Nearest public secondary school

Kelowna Secondary: 900 m

Nearest public school with early French immersion

Kelowna Secondary: 900 m

Nearest francophone school (Conseil scolaire francophone)

de l'Anse-au-sable, Kelowna: 3.8 km

Independent schools within 10 km

11

Nearest licensed group child care

Discovery World Daycare: 300 m

Licensed group child care within 1 km

12: by the ages their operators list, 1 under 36 months, 4 for 30 months to 5 years, 1 preschool and 2 school age (8 list none); all take part in the fee reduction (CCFRI)

Licensed group child care within 2 km

24: by the ages their operators list, 4 under 36 months, 10 for 30 months to 5 years, 2 preschool and 5 school age (13 list none); all take part in the fee reduction (CCFRI)

Licensed family child care within about 2 km

5, in the providers' homes

Nearest grocery store

Lakview Market: 800 m

Grocery stores within 10 km

26

Nearest fire station

Kelowna Fire Department Station 2: 1.8 km, on the Province's list

Nearest fire hydrant

About 45 m from the lot line, on the City of Kelowna's Water Hydrant map (read 2026-10-15); 4 within 150 m and 17 within 300 m of the lot line

Nearest ambulance station

Ambulance station 340, Kelowna: 1.9 km

Nearest police detachment or station

Kelowna RCMP: 2.2 km

Nearest community policing office

Klo Community Policing, Kelowna: 1.7 km

Nearest transfer station or landfill

A landfill (no name on the map): 9.9 km

Nearest post office

Mission Park: 1.1 km

Postal area

V1Y: an urban postal area: homes mostly get mail at the door or a community mailbox (our reading).

Nearest gas station

Chevron: 900 m

Nearest Service BC office

Service BC - Kelowna: 1.9 km

Nearest airport with screened airline flights

Kelowna airport (YLW): 12 km

Vancouver International Airport (YVR), BC's main airport for flights abroad

277 km

Nearest transit stop

Pandosy St at Morrison Ave: 270 m, routes 1 and 8; 107 departures on a weekday, 72 on Saturday, 48 on Sunday (BC Transit's schedule, week of October 19, 2026)

Busiest stop within 500 m

Pandosy St at Patterson Ave: 290 m, routes 1 and 8; 107 departures on a weekday, 73 on Saturday, 48 on Sunday (BC Transit's schedule, week of October 19, 2026)

Transit stops within 500 m

4

Nearest park or protected area

Bear Creek Park, a provincial park: 6.3 km from the lot line

Nearest recreation site or trail

Smith Creek Area, on Recreation Sites and Trails BC's list: 13 km from the lot line

Distances are straight lines from the middle of the lot, measured by us. The drive is longer, and much longer where the road winds, crosses water or takes a ferry.

Hospitals are from the Province's list; emergency departments and walk-in clinics from HealthLink BC's lists, with the hours they give. Not every hospital has a 24-hour emergency department, and a small town's emergency department can close for a shift when it's short of staff: the health authority posts these as service changes, so check before you rely on one. In an emergency, call 9-1-1.

Which school a child goes to depends on the school district's catchment, not on distance: ask the district.

French programs are from the Ministry's school list. French immersion usually takes students by application or lottery, often with its own boundary, and the Conseil scolaire francophone's schools are for children whose parents have the right to French-language education: ask the district which applies.

Child care is from the Province's Child Care Map Data, listed October 13, 2026: licensed facilities the Province funds, so a licensed one without that funding, or a licence-not-required carer, isn't on it. The ages served and any space are what each operator reports, and many list no ages. A space reported weeks ago may be gone: ask the facility about spaces and wait lists.

The fee reduction is the Province's Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative (CCFRI): a facility taking part charges lower monthly fees for children up to kindergarten age (our summary).

Licensed family child care is in the provider's own home, so we count it but don't name or place it. It's counted on a grid of about 1 km, so the count near 2 km is approximate (our reading).

A fire station nearby doesn't mean it covers this lot: confirm the fire protection area with the local government. Insurers price fire cover by the road distance to the hall that responds and whether the lot is inside a fire protection area.

The City of Kelowna's map shows the hydrants on the City's own water system. Much of Kelowna gets its water from an improvement district (Black Mountain, Glenmore-Ellison or Rutland), whose hydrants aren't on it: there, ask the district or the fire department. Distances are straight lines to the lot line, measured by us.

Insurers ask how far the house is from a hydrant as well as from the fire hall that responds: ask yours what distance it uses and what that does to the premium.

Fire halls, ambulance stations and police are from the Province's First Responders list (updated 2026-09-11), with fire stations it lacks added from OpenStreetMap. A hall that has moved may still be listed at its old address.

An ambulance station is where crews are based. How soon one arrives depends on where the crew is when the call comes.

A detachment is where police are based; it isn't always the force that covers the lot, and a community policing office is often volunteer-run with no officers on hand. Ask the local government which police serve the lot. In an emergency, call 9-1-1.

Pharmacies are from HealthLink BC's list, with the hours it gives: a few pharmacies are in clinics or programs for their own patients, and hours change, so call ahead.

Transit stops and departures are counted by us from BC Transit's and TransLink's published schedules for one week, leaving out the stop where a trip ends. A stop's distance is a straight line from the middle of the lot; the walk is longer. Service changes with the seasons: check the timetable before you count on a route.

Parks and recreation sites are measured in a straight line from the lot line. Conservancies, regional and municipal parks aren't on these lists. Recreation Sites and Trails BC's list doesn't say whether a site is open, closed or reachable this season: check its page before you go.

Grocery stores, transfer stations, landfills, recycling depots, post offices, gas stations are from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers: one may be missing, closed or mapped in the wrong place, and a landfill may be closed without the map saying so (our reading).

The postal area is Statistics Canada's outline of where a postal code's first three characters are used, drawn from postal code points, so near its edge the lot may fall in the next one. It doesn't say how this lot's mail is delivered: ask Canada Post, and give a courier or online store the full postal code to see what they charge.

Airports with screened airline flights are the ones the CATSA Aerodrome Designation Regulations list, where the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority screens passengers, kept where OurAirports also lists scheduled flights (Dawson Creek is designated but has none listed). Smaller airports and floatplane bases with scheduled flights aren't screened and aren't on this list, so a nearer one may have flights: check with the airlines. Distances are straight lines; the drive, or a ferry, is longer.

Confirm services with the local government.

Best speed recorded within about 1 km

50/10 Mbps or faster

Over a wired line (cable, fibre or DSL)

50/10 Mbps or faster

Over fixed wireless

50/10 Mbps or faster

LTE mobile within about 1 km

recorded

Nearest place with 50/10 Mbps or faster

within about 1 km (about 100 m)

Data

ISED National Broadband Data, May 2026

Mobile carriers listed in the area around the lot (about 25 km²)

Bell and Telus (one shared network), Rogers, Freedom Mobile (ISED, reported, not a guarantee at the lot)

Nearest FM radio transmitter

VF2675, 102.3 MHz low-power FM, 50 W, at Kelowna, about 7.2 km to the east-north-east

Nearest TV transmitter

CHKL-DT|CHBC-DT-MX, TV channel 24 (digital), 35 kW, at Kelowna, about 11 km to the north-north-west; the bare ground doesn't block the line to it (our reading, terrain only)

Bell satellite TV dish sightline

82° W sits 23° up to the south-east, clear of the hills by 18°; 91.1° W sits 27° up to the south-east, clear of the hills by 22° (terrain only; our reading)

Shaw Direct satellite TV dish sightline

107.3° W sits 32° up to the south-south-east, clear of the hills by 27°; 111.1° W sits 32° up to the south, clear of the hills by 28° (terrain only; our reading)

Starlink: sky hidden by the hills

The hills stay under 20° all round, so terrain shouldn't block it (trees and buildings not counted; our reading)

This is the service providers report to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for homes and roads near the lot, not a quote: ask providers whether they serve this address, at what speed and at what cost to connect.

Speeds are download/upload bands. 50/10 Mbps is ISED's top band, so a place in it can get much faster service, and it is the CRTC's target for every Canadian home.

A line that reaches homes within 1 km may stop short of this lot; bringing it further can cost the buyer. Fixed wireless and LTE need a clear line to the tower, which hills and tall trees can block.

Satellite service doesn't need nearby lines, but it needs a clear view of the sky.

Distances are straight lines from the middle of the lot, measured by us on a grid of about 250 m.

Mobile carriers are those Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) lists for mobile service in its hexagon of about 25 km² holding the lot's middle; ISED counts LTE and 5G together and doesn't say how much of the hexagon a carrier covers, so a listed carrier may not reach the lot, the house or the valley floor. Cell tower positions aren't open data. Ask the carriers, or try a phone on site.

Broadcast transmitters are from ISED's Spectrum Management System extract: the nearest FM and TV transmitters in operation within 50 km of the lot's middle, with their effective radiated power. Whether the bare ground blocks the line is our reading on the elevation model the Winter sun section reads (out to 16 km round the lot; hills beyond it aren't counted); trees, buildings and an antenna's height on the house aren't, and reception also depends on power, distance and the receiver.

Satellite sightlines are our reading: each geostationary satellite's place in the sky from the lot's middle (Telesat's orbital slots, read 2026-10-13) set against the skyline the Winter sun section reads on NRCan's elevation model, in 72 directions out to 16 km. Trees and buildings, which most often decide whether a dish sees its satellite, aren't counted, and a dish can sit higher or elsewhere on the lot. Starlink asks for a clear view of the sky from about 20° above the horizon and picks its own direction: its app's obstruction check on site is the real test.

Nearest climate station

Kelowna Burnett's Nursery, 600 m away

Station elevation

350 m

Lot elevation (estimated, middle of the lot)

346 m

January mean temperature (1981-2010)

−0.7 °C*

July mean temperature (1981-2010)

20.7 °C*

Yearly precipitation, rain and snow as water (1981-2010)

344 mm*

Yearly snowfall (1981-2010)

64 cm*

Days a year over 30 °C (1981-2010)

25 days, 2.1 days of them over 35 °C*

Wettest day in the station's record to 2010

34.4 mm of rain and melted snow, June 26, 1982

Most snow in a day in the station's record to 2010

30 cm, January 17, 1975

Deepest snow on the ground in the station's record to 2010

42 cm, January 24, 1982

Heating degree days, below 18 °C (1981-2010)

3,342 a year*

Growing degree days, above 5 °C (1981-2010)

2,261 a year; 1,236 above 10 °C*

Period

1981-2010

Plant hardiness zone (regional)

7a

By the 2050s, days a year over 30 °C (model projection, SSP2-4.5)

About 23 more days over 30 °C a year than in the same models' 1971-2000

By the 2050s, longest frost-free run (model projection, SSP2-4.5)

A longest frost-free run about 50 days longer than in the same models' 1971-2000

By the 2050s, winter precipitation falling as snow (model projection, SSP2-4.5)

About 14 percentage points less of winter's precipitation falling as snow than in the same models' 1971-2000

Days with fine particles over BC's air objective level

A median of 5.5 days a year at the Kelowna KLO Road station, 1.7 km away (2020 to 2025); the most was 25 days in 2021, most in August

Lightning near the lot (1998-2025 average)

A cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 7 days a year; 0.12 flashes per km² a year, more than at 3 in 4 BC homes

Normals are 30-year averages at the station, not readings for this lot. In BC's mountains a few hundred metres of elevation, a north-facing slope or a lakeshore can change winters a lot: a hillside lot can be much colder and snowier than a valley station.

The lot's elevation is our estimate from Natural Resources Canada's 30 m elevation model at the middle of the lot.

The hardiness zone is from Natural Resources Canada's 2025 map, read by us on a grid of about 2 to 3 km: near a zone's edge, or well above or below the valley around it, the lot may fall in the next zone. It is a guide to which plants survive the winter, not a frost date.

* Based on fewer years than the WMO standard: these figures rest on at least 20 or 15 of the 30 years, short of the World Meteorological Organization's standard of nearly all of them. ECCC publishes them as normals; treat them as a rougher guide.

The records are single days measured at the station: the most rain, snow and wind it saw in its record up to 2010 (ECCC's 1981-2010 sets give records over the station's whole history, so some dates are older than 1981). Each is one event, not what to expect in a year, and the lot can get more or less than the station.

ECCC's 1981-2010 normals for this station don't include the frost-free period, days with snow on the ground or the lowest temperature recorded, so those are left out rather than guessed.

A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below or above a base, added up over the year. Heating degree days below 18 °C follow how much a home needs heating: a place with 5,000 needs roughly half again the heat of one with 3,300, for the same house. Growing degree days above 5 °C (10 °C for warm-season crops such as corn and grapes) follow how much warmth plants get to grow.

Model projections, not predictions of the weather: the median of 26 climate models downscaled by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (CanDCS-M6), for 2041-2070 under SSP2-4.5, a middle path for emissions. Each is given as the change from the same models' 1971-2000, not against a station's normals: in the mountains the models' figures can sit well off a valley station's, and the change between the two periods says more than either number. The frost-free run is the longest stretch of days with the low at or above 0 °C. The share of winter's precipitation falling as snow is our reading: each model's December to February snowfall over its precipitation, then the median across the models.

The models work on a grid of about 9 by 6 km, which averages valley floors with the slopes around them, so their own figures can sit well off a station's normals and aren't comparable with them. The models' own figures here, for setting against each other only: about 46 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 40 to 71 across the models), against about 23 in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 220 days (range 190 to 240), against about 170; and about 48% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 36% to 52%), against about 62%. The range runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile of the models' 2041-2070 figure; it isn't a range of the change.

At the Kelowna KLO Road station, 1.7 km away, fine particles passed the level of BC's 24-hour objective (25 µg/m³) on a median of 5.5 days a year over the 6 years with a full record, 2020 to 2025; the most was 25 days in 2021, most of them in August. Most of these days fell from June to September, the wildfire season (our reading: mostly wildfire smoke).

The days are counted by us from the Province's verified hourly readings: a day counts when the station has 18 or more valid hours and their mean is over 25 µg/m³, the level of BC's Ambient Air Quality Objective for fine particles over 24 hours (the Province judges the objective itself on a year's 98th percentile of daily averages, not on single days), and a year counts when the station ran most of it, July to September included. They are the station's days, not this lot's: smoke drifts unevenly, and a lot up a valley or across a lake from the station can be clearer or smokier.

BC's air quality advisories and the Air Quality Health Index say what the air is like now; a HEPA filter and a home with a ventilation system that can recirculate help on smoky days.

Lightning is the Canadian Lightning Detection Network's cloud-to-ground flashes, averaged over 1998-2025, on Environment and Climate Change Canada's grid of 0.1 degrees (about 11 km north to south and 7 km east to west in BC): it is the area's lightning, not the lot's. A day counts when a flash fell in a grid cell whose middle is within 10 km of the middle of the lot's cell, by the Pacific standard time day (our reading); flashes per km² are for the lot's own cell. Set among BC's homes by Statistics Canada's 2021 dwellings on ISED's points. Lightning starts fires and can damage a well pump, panels or wiring on high open ground; ask an electrician about surge protection.

ECCC has no fuller 1991-2020 set for this station, so these are its 1981-2010 normals; recent years have run warmer than them in most of BC. Ask neighbours or the local government about snow on the road and who clears it.

Place

Kelowna

In the taxable area

Yes

Rate, 2026

1% of the assessed value for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 3% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners (4% from 2027)

Declare by

March 31 each year, for the year before

The tax applies to property BC Assessment classes as residential; exemptions also cover a newly bought home in its first year, a home being built or rebuilt, a home reached only by water and over 100 m from a road, and a property assessed at $150,000 or less, among others. Every owner on title declares separately, each year, even when exempt. Confirm a given property with the Province's speculation and vacancy tax office.

Reserve and treaty lands, and islands reached only by air or water (Vancouver Island aside), are outside the taxable areas.

Local government

Kelowna

Residential rate, 2026

4.7595 per $1,000

Municipal

2.9615 per $1,000

Regional district

0.2437 per $1,000

Regional hospital district

0.205 per $1,000

School (set by the Province)

1.311 per $1,000

Other

0.0383 per $1,000

BC municipalities' middle rate

6.24337 per $1,000

Your bill uses BC Assessment's value for the property, which can differ from its price, and may also include parcel taxes and utility fees (water, sewer, garbage) that aren't rates on value.

The home owner grant takes up to $570 off the bill of a home its owner lives in ($770 in the Province's northern and rural area in 2026, and up to $845, or $1,045 there, for seniors, veterans and people with a disability), for homes assessed at $2,075,000 or less in 2026; above that it shrinks by $5 for each $1,000. From 2027 the northern and rural extra ends and the regular grant is $570 everywhere. The owner applies each year, and must pay at least $350 in tax ($100 for the higher grant) after it.

Rates are set each May for the year; the next year's will differ.

Police service

The Kelowna RCMP (municipal)

Crime severity index, 2025

116 (BC 92)

Violent / non-violent index

112 / 119 (BC 98 / 91)

Crime severity index, 2015

112 (BC 93)

Break and enter, per 100,000 people, 2025

480 (BC 281)

Theft of a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025

197 (BC 138)

Theft from a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025

756 (BC 441)

Violent crime, per 100,000 people, 2025

2,083 (BC 1,531)

All Criminal Code offences (not traffic), per 100,000 people, 2025

10,141 (BC 6,943)

The crime severity index weighs each offence by how serious it is (one assault counts for more than several thefts), with Canada in 2006 set at 100. Rates are per 100,000 people living in the police service's area, so places with many visitors, commuters or seasonal homes read high, and in small places a few incidents swing the figures a lot. These are crimes reported to police, not all crime.

In BC only Surrey, the Township of Langley, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam publish reported property crime block by block under an open licence; reports there count what was reported within 500 m of the lot. The police here don't, so the figures above are for the whole area they cover.

Police calls to a particular address aren't published in BC (privacy law keeps police records about identifiable people closed), and neither is whether a home was used as a grow-op or drug lab: that shows up as a notice on the title. Ask the seller for the Property Disclosure Statement, and your lawyer for the title search.