COVID-19 didn’t slow down building or bylaw in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen.
The district issued just two fewer building permits than it had in 2019, with all of the issued permits worth over $4 million more.
In 2020, the RDOS issued a total of 525 building permits, compared to 527 in 2019.
Out of those permits, the most popular applications included 150 for accessory uses, and 127 for additions, repairs or plumbing work for 2020.
The areas which saw the most applications in 2020 were rural Oliver, which had 95 permits, and rural Princeton, which had 98.
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In 2019, the two largest areas for permits were rural Princeton, which had 132 permits that year, and Area I for Kaleden, Apex, and Skaha West. Area I went from 102 permits in 2019 down to 61 in 2020.
All of the permits totalled $52,959,225 in dollar value for 2020, up from the $48,675,452 worth of permits issued in 2019.
Building inspection revenue for the RDOS also increased in 2020, going from $558,865.98 in 2019 up to $603,598.34.
Despite the pandemic and lockdown, bylaw services stayed busy resolving 305 complaints in 2020, up from 278 in 2019.
The number of complaints received for the year went down, with bylaw receiving 225 in 2020 compared to 268 in 2019.
The most bylaw complaints that were dealt with were for land use, which made up 97 of the year’s 305 resolved.
Animal control calls came in number two with 88 in 2020, followed by 70 resolved noise complaints.
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The year saw no burning bylaw complaints either received or resolved by bylaw.
Electoral Areas C and D, Rural Oliver and Skaha East and Okanagan Falls, saw the most resolved complaints, with 19 apiece for 2020.
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