Building permits issued through the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen in 2012 suggest development in the regional district is slowly continuing to pick up following the economic downturn of 2009.
“Although it’s not quite a return to 2008 when the regional district enjoyed more than $46 million in new development and additions, 2012 still brought considerable growth to the region,” said Donna Butler, RDOS Development Services Manager.
Over the 12-month period, the regional district issued 439 building permits with a total value of almost $39 million. That is up from $37.9 million in 2011 when 410 permits were issued.
As in previous years, the majority of new residential building permits are for the RDOS’s South Okanagan region, specifically that area south of Penticton, including Okanagan Falls/Kaleden, rural Oliver and rural Osoyoos. Of the 88 new residential units granted building permits in 2012, 63 were in Electoral Areas “A”,”C” and “D”. Building permits were granted for another 18 units in Electoral Area “H”, rural Princeton including Tulameen, Osprey Lake and Eastgate areas. All of these residential building permits were for single family units and totalled $ 23,929,673.
Almost all of new non-residential development (commercial, industrial and institutional) was in Electoral Areas “C” and “D” (Kaleden-Okanagan Falls-Oliver) where 27 of 33 permits were issued. New non-residential development totalled $5,519,745.
“The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen is still considered a premier location for both residential and commercial development,” said RDOS Regional Board Chair Dan Ashton. “Our amazing climate, beautiful scenery and friendly, hard-working folk make the Okanagan-Similkameen a great place to build a life.”
The Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen provides a monthly summary of building permit activity as part of its commitment to its clients and improving the stakeholder experience. Monthly reports are available online at www.rdos.bc.ca under Building Permits Statistics.
For further information please contact Donna Butler, RDOS Development Services Manager at (250) 490-4109 or dbutler@rdos.bc.ca.