By Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

Short-term vacation rentals, building a year-round economy and building height limits were just some of the topics explored in the Official Community Plan survey.

Gina Mackay, director of planning and development services for the town, gave an update to town council at the Oct. 21 Committee of the Whole.

The online survey was filled out by 328 people, or 6.4 per cent of the total population. Most respondents were between the ages of 60 to 74 making up 42 per cent of responses. Respondents between the ages of 45 and 59 years old made up 26 per cent of responses. Ages 30 to 44 made up 17 per cent of respondents and five per cent of responses were from ages 75 and up.

“That’s very consistent with our actual population by age group. So percentage-wise I think it is a good representation of age groups that actually participated in the online survey,” MacKay said.

Almost none of the respondents lived outside of town, with less than one per cent of responses from outside of Osoyoos.

Affordable housing

The question of “what are the most important housing considerations for Osoyoos?” saw 60 per cent saying short-term vacation rentals are having an impact on housing in the community.

How those short-term rentals should be addressed saw a slightly more diverse set of opinions. Just under half of respondents, 45 per cent, agreed short-term rentals should be allowed in all residential and commercial areas, while 24 per cent said short-term rentals should be allowed in commercial areas only.

Housing affordability was identified by 27 per cent of respondents as an important consideration for the town “which is interesting because it is not really consistent with other information we’ve been receiving,” MacKay said.

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Write-in answers from 27 respondents noted difficulty finding pet-friendly homes and that single residents should not have to have a roommate to afford rent.

“Basically in order for it to be affordable they shouldn’t have to have a roommate, was one of the comments that was made, and it was made more than once,” MacKay said.

A few comments were made about developing buildings higher than four storeys, the current restricted height in town. Forty-four per cent responded “no they are tall enough” to the question of higher buildings in Osoyoos, with the second most respondents saying yes to higher buildings, but only on a site-by-site basis.

“Myself personally as a planner, I think yes on a site-by-site basis. That would be a comprehensive development zoning process. I could see us moving possibly in that direction,” MacKay said.

Economic growth

Economic growth was another topic covered in the survey, with respondents expressing a need in the resort municipality for a year-round economy.

“Business attraction strategies are needed and we need more options for families,” MacKay said. “That was very interesting. When we talk about business and people talk about families, people say there are not enough shopping opportunities for families. That’s what we gleaned from the text.”

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Top environmental considerations from the survey results included water quality and supply, connected to protection of the lake and foreshore. Invasive species control and wildfire protection were other priorities highlighted.

A total of 253 responses were received to the open-ended question “is there anything else you love about living in Osoyoos?”  28 per cent said the weather and 27 per cent said the people “and that just warmed my heart,” MacKay said.

“I thought that was really fantastic. That’s a very good response and this is write in your own answer, and 27 per cent said ‘people,’” MacKay said.

Other positives included the small-town feel of Osoyoos, a sense of community and in-town recreation.

‘Brazen’ comments

Of course, not all the responses were so sunny.

“There were a few people that were really brazen about their comments about certain things in our community. Which came as no surprise, but we don’t want to bury that, we want to hear from everybody,” MacKay said.

One of the comments received more than once included a desire for more cultural diversity. Lack of housing and limited events in the summer were other not-so-great aspects of Osoyoos according to the survey responses. Improvement to bylaw enforcement and regulation of boat traffic on Osoyoos lake were among other suggestions to make Osoyoos better.

The $150,000 project to give the municipality’s long-term planning document its first update since 2008 is ongoing, with a housing needs assessment and environmental assessments included among other inter-connected planning documents.

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Mayor Sue McKortoff noted adjacent Area A (rural Osoyoos) OCP review starts in December.

“I think it’s important that we try and work together, or they be involved and know what we’re doing. And we should absolutely know what their priorities are too because it’s important we work together,” McKortoff said.

The next OCP event takes place at the Sonora Centre Nov. 19 and will include a report back to the community on what has been heard through the process so far. A discussion on the results will take place and a tabletop mapping exercise will allow residents a chance to draw zoning designation suggestions.

Results from the concurrent housing needs assessment underway will also be reported at the Nov. 19 event.