Zone

RA (Rural Acreage)

Zoning bylaw

Joe Rich Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 1195, 2007

Homes allowed

One single family house (s. 5.6.3) of at least 60 m² (s. 5.6.4), with a secondary suite inside it (s. 3.16); on a lot of 8 ha or more, one additional dwelling for a farm worker or caretaker instead of the suite (s. 3.13)

Main uses

Homes, farming, portable saw or shake mill, service kennel, veterinary clinic or animal hospital (100 m from lot lines), hobby kennel, home occupation, short-term rental, agri-tourism and agri-tourist accommodation, cannabis production

Smallest lot for a subdivision

4 ha (s. 5.6.2)

Lot coverage

10%

Height limit

12 m; accessory buildings 8 m

Setbacks

Front 8 m, sides and rear 8 m

Development permit areas

None over the lot on the Regional District of Central Okanagan's maps

Fewest homes provincial law requires

If the RA zone allows only detached houses (unclear here), the Regional District of Central Okanagan must allow at least one secondary suite or detached accessory home (a garden suite or carriage house) next to a house. A floor of 3 or 4 homes applies on rural land only inside an urban containment boundary drawn in a regional growth strategy, and most rural land is outside one; whether this lot is, is unclear here.

Short-term rentals (provincial rule)

The Province's principal residence requirement doesn't apply in the Regional District of Central Okanagan's Central Okanagan East Electoral Area (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.

Accessory buildings: as many as the allowed uses need (s. 5.6.3).

A rural land use bylaw does the job of a zoning bylaw in Joe Rich: its map gives each lot a land use designation, which sets the uses, homes, lot sizes, setbacks and heights the way a zone does (Section 1, Part 2).

Secondary suite (s. 3.16, Bylaw 1596 of May 14, 2026): one per lot, inside the house (not joined to it by a breezeway or carport), up to 100 m² of floor area, never strata-titled, and not on a lot with an additional dwelling. It needs community water or a private water source (with a water licence where one is required), and community sewer or a septic system that an Authorized Person confirms can take both homes, with room for a backup field.

Additional dwelling (s. 3.13): where the designation allows one, it houses a farm worker's or caretaker's household and is at most 140 m² of floor area or 75% of the house's, whichever is less; a lot with one can't also have a secondary suite (s. 3.16.4).

Short-term rental is a listed use since Bylaw 1587 (May 14, 2026; s. 3.9): one per property, in all or part of the house or in its secondary suite but not both, never in an additional dwelling; at most 4 bedrooms and 8 guests overnight, one parking space set aside for it, one small sign and no other outside sign of it. It is allowed only inside an established fire protection area, and this lot is in the Joe Rich fire protection area (Bylaw No. 1508) on the RDCO's map (read 2026-10-04), so it meets that condition; confirm with the RDCO.

Home occupation (s. 3.5): in the house or another building on the lot, up to 100 m² of floor area plus 50 m² for storage, run by residents with up to two workers from elsewhere at a time; no more than 55 dBA at the lot line, no light over 4 lux beyond it, no odour, smoke or dust, at most three vehicles parked for it, and two signs of up to 1 m². Retail sales only of goods made or grown on the lot, by mail or phone, or incidental to the service. On lots under 5,000 m², no vehicle or machinery repair or painting, cabinet making, welding or machining. A licensed family day care is allowed.

Agri-tourism is tourist facilities tied to a working farm or ranch, within 200 m² of floor area and 100 people (Part 1). Agri-tourist accommodation needs an approved agri-tourism activity on the lot: up to 10 bedrooms on a lot of 3.8 ha or more, 4 on a smaller one, with a parking space for each (s. 3.15).

A service kennel, veterinary clinic or animal hospital stays 100 m from every lot line and is accessory to the home; a hobby kennel is accessory to the home too, and both may need the Agricultural Land Commission's approval in the ALR.

A portable saw or shake mill needs a lot of 8 ha or more, cuts only logs from that lot, at most 50 m³ of lumber a day, with a 15 m fire guard, and the Agricultural Land Commission's approval in the ALR (s. 3.7).

Cannabis production needs a federal licence and a lot of 8 ha or more, with its buildings 30 m from lot lines and 15 m from watercourses (s. 3.17); on a lot with any ALR land only in an open field, in a structure with a soil base, in one built or permitted before July 13, 2018, or in an existing federally licensed operation (s. 3.14.4). Cannabis stores are banned everywhere (s. 3.14.3).

Livestock (s. 3.12): on lots under 2,500 m² up to 10 small animals; 2,500 to 5,000 m² 30 small animals; 5,000 m² to 1 ha 2 large and 30 small; 1 to 2 ha 6 large and 60 small; 2 ha or more no limit. Feedlots and hog farms need 30 ha outside the ALR. Buildings that shelter animals overnight stay 15 m from lot lines and from creeks and other water (s. 3.11).

Outside storage: at most four unlicensed vehicles on any lot (s. 3.8.1); up to 4 pieces of logging, industrial or construction equipment on a lot of 4 ha or more, 2 on 5,000 m² or more, none on a smaller lot, kept 15 m from side and rear lines and from water (ss. 3.8.2, 3.8.3).

On a lot with a house, nobody may live in an RV for more than 10 days a month, and nothing but permitted vehicles is stored in the front or corner side setback; on a lot without a house, no RV may be parked (s. 3.14).

Floodplain (s. 3.1): floors for living, business or storing goods sit 3 m above the natural boundary of Mission Creek and 1.5 m above any other watercourse; fill to raise them stays 30 m from Mission Creek, 15 m from other watercourses and 7.5 m from lakes, swamps and ponds. Garages, carports, entrance foyers and most farm buildings are exempt; the RDCO may grant exemptions on a geotechnical report.

In the ALR the Agricultural Land Commission's rules come first for every use and subdivision (s. 3.10).

A panhandle lot's strip is at least 20 m wide, its driveway no steeper than 8%, with room at the end for two vehicles to turn (s. 3.2).

Height is measured from the finished grade to the highest point; chimneys, masts, spires and similar are left out (Part 1).

Lot coverage counts all buildings and structures but not open patios, low decks, pools, eaves, or greenhouses in rural designations (Part 1).

Only the uses the designation lists are allowed (s. 4.1.2). A lot smaller than the minimum that existed before the bylaw can still be built on under its designation (s. 4.2), and a lot cut off for a relative needs 8 ha (s. 4.5).

Subdivision is approved by the Province's approving officer (Ministry of Transportation), with roads, water, septic, drainage and slope stability to the RDCO's Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw (ss. 6.1, 6.12). The bylaw's policies support new rural residential lots of 4 ha or more and don't support changing a designation to subdivide (Section 4, Part 3).

Section 3 of the bylaw sets development permit areas (aquatic ecosystems, slope stability and rural hillside, wildfire interface, sensitive terrestrial ecosystems, and form and character); building, clearing or subdividing inside one usually needs a permit first. Whether this lot is in one isn't checked here: ask the RDCO.

Our summary of Section 2, s. 5.6 of Joe Rich Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 1195, 2007, consolidated to 2026-05-14, checked 2026-10-04. 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 RDCO's planning department before you buy or build.

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.

December 21 (shortest day)

7 h 30 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; 16 h 10 min on open ground

Noon sun on December 21

17° above level; the hills due south rise to 2°, 10.2 km away

Highest hills in the winter sun's path

3° above level to the south, 10.7 km away

Measured at

The middle of the lot, ground at about 1,053 m, from head height

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.

Capability class (1 best, 7 none)

Class 5: about 100% of the lot

What limits it

soil holds little water

Improved rating

Class 4, assuming the improvements the map judged practical

Map scale

1:20,000 to 1:100,000: describes the area, not the field

Mapped

1960s to 1990s (digitised 2015)

These classes rate how well the land suits ordinary field crops, from the soil and climate as surveyed decades ago. Drainage, irrigation or fill since then can change the real answer, and a map at this scale can miss a good or poor field. The Agricultural Land Commission weighs these classes when it decides applications.

If farming matters to you here, a professional agrologist (P.Ag.) can assess the soil on site.

These maps were drawn mostly in the 1980s and 1990s and cover only some rivers and lakes. Not being on one doesn't mean the land can't flood: ask the local government whether it has newer flood mapping, and whether its bylaws set a flood construction level or floodplain setback here.

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

0.086 g

Peak ground acceleration, 10% in 50 years

0.034 g

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

0.19 g

The same value in city centres

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

These are the 2020 National Building Code's reference values at the lot's centre, on firm ground (site class C). Soft soil, fill or a slope can make shaking stronger; the site class and the values a building is designed for come from the building official or a geotechnical engineer.

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

On record on the lot or within 100 m

0

On record within 1 km

0

On record within 5 km

3

Nearest

1 km from the lot: an earth slide, 7 Apr 2018 (listed under “Goudie Road landslide”)

Kinds within 5 km

earth slide 3

With a date

2 of 3; the latest 7 Apr 2018 (earth slide, 1 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.

Federal sites within 2 km

0

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.

Confirm with the local government and a qualified environmental professional.

At-risk species or ecosystems on the parcel

None recorded

Within 500 m

trembling aspen / common snowberry / Kentucky bluegrass (Red-listed)

Wide-ranging species mapped over it

American Badger (Red-listed)

Secured records in the wider area

Yes (location withheld by the CDC)

Wildlife Habitat Area over the parcel

No

Ungulate winter range over the parcel

mule deer and moose

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.

The CDC hides the exact location of some sensitive species inside large blocks; it shares details with landowners and their consultants on request (cdcdata@gov.bc.ca).

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.

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

Nearest railway (2 km)

None mapped within 2 km

Nearest highway or major road (2 km)

Highway 33, a major road, about 940 m from the lot line

Nearest airport or airstrip (2 km)

None mapped within 2 km

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.

Community water

Not in any of the Regional District of Central Okanagan's water service areas on its map (read 2026-10-04)

Wells within 2 km

94

Median depth

91 m

Median tested yield

13 L/min (88 wells tested)

Median water level below ground

21 m

Aquifer 473 under the lot

Mission, Daves and Cardinal Creek area: fractured crystalline bedrock; productivity low, vulnerability low, demand low; 36 wells linked, median depth 49.2 m

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.

The RDCO's map shows its own water systems only; improvement districts and private water systems aren't on it.

Nearest hospital

Kelowna General Hospital: 16 km

Next nearest hospital

Vernon Jubilee Hospital: 42 km

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

Black Mountain Elementary, Kelowna: 5.7 km

Nearest public secondary school

Kelowna Secondary: 15 km

Independent schools within 10 km

3

Nearest grocery store

Save-On-Foods: 8.5 km

Grocery stores within 10 km

2

Nearest fire station

Joe Rich Fire Department Hall 52: 1.3 km, on the Province's list

Fire protection area

In the Joe Rich fire protection area (Bylaw No. 1508), at the lot's middle (per the Regional District of Central Okanagan's Fire Protection Area map, read 2026-10-04)

Nearest ambulance station

Ambulance station 341, Kelowna: 10 km

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. Not every hospital has a 24-hour emergency department, and some small towns have a health centre with emergency care that isn't on this list: check with the regional health authority.

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

The Regional District of Central Okanagan's map puts the lot's middle in the Joe Rich fire protection area. The nearest fire station isn't always the hall that responds: confirm which one does with the RDCO. Insurers price fire cover by the road distance to that hall and whether the lot is inside a fire protection area.

The RDCO's map shows the fire protection areas of its own fire departments in its electoral areas, each set by a service bylaw; a municipality's fire department isn't on it.

Fire halls and ambulance stations 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.

Grocery stores are from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers: one may be missing, closed or mapped in the wrong place.

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 200 m)

Data

ISED National Broadband Data, May 2026

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.

Nearest climate station

Kelowna East, 9.2 km away

Station elevation

491 m

Lot elevation (estimated, middle of the lot)

1,054 m

January mean temperature (1981-2010)

−2.3 °C*

July mean temperature (1981-2010)

20.4 °C*

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

414 mm*

Yearly snowfall (1981-2010)

84 cm*

Period

1981-2010

Plant hardiness zone (regional)

5a

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 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.

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.

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.

Collected by

The Province (rural area), for Central Okanagan East Electoral Area

Rate every home pays, 2026

2.98854 per $1,000

Regional district (the electoral area's share)

0.96865 per $1,000

Regional hospital district

0.20629 per $1,000

School (set by the Province)

1.311 per $1,000

Provincial rural tax

0.3861 per $1,000

Police tax

0.0782 per $1,000

Other

0.0383 per $1,000

On buildings only

0.0298 per $1,000 of the buildings' value

Local service areas

Unclear for this lot: they cover parts of the area, up to 1.90827 per $1,000 each

Full rate for this lot

Unclear

The Province's rural rates don't say which local service areas (fire protection, recreation, street lighting, water, improvement districts, the Islands Trust) cover which lots, so they're left out of the rate above. Ask the Province's Surveyor of Taxes, or the seller for the latest tax notice.

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.

Police service

The Kelowna RCMP detachment (rural; inferred)

Crime severity index, 2025

110 (BC 92)

Violent / non-violent index

104 / 113 (BC 98 / 91)

Crime severity index, 2015

98 (BC 93)

Break and enter, per 100,000 people, 2025

371 (BC 281)

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

261 (BC 138)

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

449 (BC 441)

Violent crime, per 100,000 people, 2025

1,968 (BC 1,531)

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

9,556 (BC 6,943)

Inferred: the nearest RCMP rural detachment Statistics Canada publishes figures for, about 16 km away. BC's police boundaries aren't open data, so the detachment that actually polices this spot may be another.

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.