Predator Ridge (Vernon Matters file photo)

By Liam Verster

Resort Housing

Local resorts seeking exemption from foreign buyers ban

Apr 23, 2024 | 4:00 PM

Two area resort locations are hoping to be exempt from the foreign buyers ban.

SilverStar Mountain Resort and Predator Ridge Resort are asking the federal government for exemptions from the policy.

A letter from Predator Ridge to Vernon city council stated its “operational model mirrors that of other mountain resorts in the province” that are already exempt, and asked council to endorse its request to be left out of the ban.

Upon receiving the letter, Councillor Kari Gares made a motion to endorse the ask.

“[Predator Ridge is], quite frankly, not part of the housing crisis and that’s why this foreign buyers ban has actually come into play, as a mechanism to manage the housing affordability crisis that Canada is experiencing,” Gares stated, adding the amount of foreign-owned units in the resort are miniscule.

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“I did have a chance to reach out to Brad Pelletier from Predator. I just wanted to figure out where we’re sitting with the percentage of foreign-ownership. Currently we’re sitting at five per cent, which is slightly less than the 6.2 per cent provincial average, and obviously that’s not including Vancouver. Vancouver is a little bit higher at 7.6,” Gares explained.

“So as we can see, where Predator is, they’re really not offering affordable housing alternatives. It is a recreational resort, even though it’s not really a resort. It does adhere to an upper level of economic buyer opportunity. So having a foreign buyers ban for that area, much like all the other areas like Big White and Whistler, they do rely on a different level of market than we do here locally.”

Council voted in favour of supporting Predator Ridge in seeking exemption from the speculation tax and the foreign buyers ban.

SilverStar had made a similar request to the Regional District of North Okanagan at the Board of Directors meeting on April 17.

Speaking with Vernon Matters following the meeting, Mayor Victor Cumming stated the issue with SilverStar is that it falls within the same census agglomeration as Vernon, and is therefore treated as the part of the same area. He said the province has already acknowledged that SilverStar and other mountain resorts in B.C., including Sun Peaks in Kamloops, are “anomalies” in the census agglomeration data and has written the federal government asking these areas be exempt.

For Predator Ridge’s request, the mayor added the data showed the foreign ownership at the resort community is very small and said it should be exempt as well.

He added the government is trying to make sure housing isn’t bought up by non-Canadians, but other resort areas have received exemptions and that should be the case here as well.

“[Exemptions] would have no impact [on Vernon], it would just enable those sorts of purchases for SilverStar and continue with that small percentage of purchases for Predator,” Cumming said, noting SilverStar has historically had many owners who reside in the United States but own a unit up the mountain.

“That doesn’t push out Canadian or B.C. buyers, and it’s a very small percentage.”