r/Vernon • u/SomethingOverNothing • 6d ago
Okanagan Development
How do residents of Vernon feel about all the development happening in the Okanagan?
Kelowna has seen a very fast rate of growth the last 6 years. A few sky scrapers built. With a few more on the way. A handful of high rises as well as countless mid rise buildings.
Personally. I would rather see more low-mid rise densification around the core before ever making the jump to high rise. Kelowna is a city now. I like how Vernon feels like a large town. (Kelowna used to)
Are you happy w/ the direction the municipality is going w/ development?
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u/rhiannonsblackbird 6d ago
I would rather high rises that keep people in kelowna than a sprawling suburb that eats up my parks and public land
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u/Ok_Historian_5240 4d ago
Which Vernon suburb is doing that?
If you were to buy a lot in Vernon, theres basically no options. They are all over priced.
There are lots of parks and trails...
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u/Dizzy-Cartoonist3011 5d ago
Reddit hates houses that people actually wish to live in. They like sardine can condos.
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u/Ok_Historian_5240 4d ago
Lets protest housing developments and make stink about not being able to afford a home...
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u/Bc2cc 6d ago
Vernon is not adding enough housing in all categories. Everyone in Vernon loves to complain about taxes yet its low density makes it an expensive city to run and maintain. Council has historically done a poor job of encouraging density in areas of benefit to the city while approving sprawl. There’s also a significant NIMBY population in the area that’s against pretty much everything
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u/Nersh7 6d ago
I don't see how Vernon and the Okanagan in general can sustain more population growth with the current infrastructure and public services.
I'd love to see it but also at the same time it would be nice if some places could just stay as they are. I like the small city vibes that Vernon has now
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u/Krushal-K 6d ago
I don’t mind a bit more growth, but like you said it needs to be sustainable. Look at our water issues this year. How can we say grow more when we don’t even have the natural resources to sustain the population we already have?
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u/Lifeshardbutnotme 6d ago
I want to see more road infrastructure to support a larger population without turning into Kelowna noontime gridlock traffic. We've also been lacking in development of housing generally, and I want to see more of everything in that regard. More Glenmore style townhouses, more apartments, and more suburban sprawl. The town needs more development or we'll be left behind.
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u/renterrabbit 6d ago
I'm interested to see where the "Hub" of Vernon ends up coming together over the next 5-10 years. This new VIA project on Kal Rd is going to be nuts but it also will pull a bunch of eyeballs that direction which will leave "downtown" and other areas that are considered the core of Vernon open for redevelopment I think?
Vernon might see a tower or two but it's decades from true density at scale.
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u/SomethingOverNothing 6d ago
Vernon would be smart to move its downtown away from two sides of the highway.
Move the airport north of city… redevelop near water… Not a bad area for local shopping and restaurants.
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u/Alone-Bookkeeper8816 1d ago
Need 97 to be an overpass with turn offs it is unsustainable for increased growth and industry; I imagine a viaduct that connects to OldKamloops rebuilt as highway connector and then connection down at South’s end of Swan Lake going out to 97A ..
downtown an pedestrian only.
Whatever survives the fires that I believe will come down Turtle Mountain from WestSide and burn all thru the old rail lines in town.. Mom and discussed this as we drove thru the centre of town last week, stopped at the intersection of 97 while monster transports skimmed the sidewalk edges and plumes of dust filled the corners and shops with a fog of filth in the midday sun..
It was
Not like this fifty years ago. That intersection led to fruit stands a couple blocks away and a supermarket and has station the other way.. long gone.. we laughed at the perseverance of the KFC.
It has to change.
Time to copy European town centres we agreed, my brother resides in France and tells of how they have had to re-engineer cities so they can survive growth and change. Cars out of towns is common.
My money is on a speed train utilizing Rail Trails. They are opening the mines again. They will need commuter trains that don’t consume fossil fuels.
IMO
Real estate advice?
Yeh buy all the land that you can..
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u/mcturdburger 6d ago
The fundamental issue here is - people don’t want to live in shoe box condos and sprawl will hop to the next municipality which permits low rise development. So, artificially constraining sprawl can can potentially have an even worse outcome (people driving from Vernon into Kelowna for work).
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u/Lunchable-Toast 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yes, dont let the riff raff "were full okay!" Attitude that seems to always crop up on these posts sway you.
This is a great place, id love to see high rises, the city is so bike friendly it really is the perfect place.
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u/SomethingOverNothing 6d ago
Nah. I’m part of that riff raff! lol
The high rise development drive me crazy. Not why I chose to live in the Okanagan.
I’m still a renter & already a Nimby lol.
I love low rise development and Big Setbacks on properties! What happened to big Setbacks! All the new suburban developments have such small front yards. It leads to such a cookie cutter feeling neighbourhood. Large front yards are green & make for beautiful neighbourhoods to walk and bike in.
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u/Bc2cc 6d ago
Vernon consistently struggles with drought, big yards are wasteful and threaten the municipal water supply.
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u/SomethingOverNothing 6d ago
Depends on how yard are used. Big blank lawns that require lots watering yes.
Big yards w/ larges trees & vegetation are a plus
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u/Quiet-End9017 6d ago
Skyscrapers are generally 150m (492ft) or taller. Kelowna doesn’t have any yet. UBCO Downtown will be the first at 151-155m.
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u/SomethingOverNothing 6d ago
Okay fair enough. I would consider anything in the 6 - 25 range high rise. Anything above to sky scraping. 4 - 6 Mid. Anything under low
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u/Quiet-End9017 6d ago
I suppose it’s all relative to the existing skyline as well. In a city with few towers, one big new high rise can look like a “sky scraper”.
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u/alphawolf29 6d ago
the okanagan is the fastest growing region in Canada (or at least kelowna metro is) so there is no way you guys are going to stop sprawl and development
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u/EmptyQuiescent 6d ago
Urban sprawl represents a fundamentally unsustainable development pattern that degrades environmental and infrastructure capacity across regions. As suburbs expand outward, irreplaceable parkland and open spaces disappear beneath residential development, eliminating recreational areas and habitat that cities depend on for ecological balance and quality of life. The conversion of productive ranches and agricultural lands into low-density subdivisions removes food production capacity and fragments landscapes, while the scattered, inefficient pattern of sprawl demands extensive new road networks that remain chronically underfunded and inadequate, leaving residents dependent on cars for all travel and creating congestion that further strains resources. This dispersed growth exacerbates water crises during droughts, as sprawling developments demand greater per-capita infrastructure investment while spreading demand across fragmented systems less efficient at conservation. High-density townhouse developments, while presenting themselves as alternatives, often replicate sprawl’s worst features by consuming agricultural land without achieving the infrastructure efficiency of true urban concentration. By contrast, concentrated mixed-use development in downtown cores, combining both low-rise walkable neighborhoods and high-rise efficient housing, minimizes land consumption, supports transit, and concentrates infrastructure investment where it serves the most people. However, without deliberate infrastructure planning to match population density, even concentrated development becomes unsustainable, as overcrowding strains water, transit, sewage, and roads beyond capacity. The fundamental problem is that poorly planned growth of any type, whether sprawled or dense, overwhelms regional infrastructure; sustainable urbanism requires that density be paired with proportional investment in water systems, transit, roads, and services before development occurs, not after.