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By Pete McIntyre

Service study

North Westside could become part of RDNO

Dec 6, 2022 | 3:00 PM

A proposal to take a closer look at a boundary change between two Okanagan regional districts is being sent to the B.C. government to review.

After conducting a governance and services study, a committee of the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) recommended the RDCO board pursue another study. It explored the services, governance, and financial implications of removing the North Westside from Central Okanagan Electoral Area West within the RDCO’s boundaries. It also determined a separate electoral area in the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO).

“The committee chose to focus on a single recommendation, rather than selecting multiple approaches, to ensure that the message from the committee was unequivocal to both the RDCO board as well as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs,” the final report stated.

During public input for the study, 73 per cent of North Westside respondents said they were not receiving good value for the taxes paid for their local services, and 87 per cent felt the North Westside’s local interests were not well represented in the RDCO decision-making processes.

At its meeting on Dec. 1, the RDCO board approved a motion to send letters to RDNO and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs regarding the next steps in a possible boundary change.

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“The letter to the minister will request provincial staff proceed with further assessments and studies needed regarding a potential boundary change and governance restructuring for North Westside communities,” a news release from RDCO stated. “The correspondence to the RDNO chair will ask for input on any proposed boundary change affecting the communities currently within the RDCO.”

The North Westside is located in the northern section of the RDCO, on the west shore of Okanagan Lake and north of the City of West Kelowna. The North Westside includes the individual communities of Westshore Estates, Killiney Beach, Upper Fintry, Fintry and La Casa, extending south to Caesar’s Landing. The communities are primarily residential in nature, with some community amenities such as Killiney community hall, fire stations, and a restaurant and liquor store in La Casa.

The 2021 Census reported the population for the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area, not including IR #9 and #10, was 2,897.