Kelowna - Population Saturation?

[Barney Google]

Driving into Kelowna today I couldn't help but notice a number of new developments in the Black Mountain area.

Will, at some point, the City Planning Department or other 'powers that be' consider that Kelowna might have a population

saturation point? How many more homes can be build and people sustained on the water supplies and land base we have?

Not that this particular area is agriculturally viable but Kelowna appears to be slowly loosing agriculture lands to golf courses

and developments.

Would LOVE to hear thoughts on this...

[looking4one]

They are, all "upstream" from the rest of us. They have cleaner water and sewage does flow downhill from there.....

[Even Steven]

I think we can easily double before we're hitting some sort of limitations.

[SGladysz]

Kelowna has a population density of 554 people per square km. Vancouver has a population density of 5,250 people per square Km. I'd say there's still some room

[Symbonite]

What needs to happen is to develop that requires less cars like develop up high rises downtown with more business offices but in Kelowna you pretty much need a car to do anything

[MAPearce]

Where do these people come from and what do they do to be able to afford a new home anyway ???

[Symbonite]

China well they buy homes in van and then those people buy here with lots left over

[occasional thoughts]

Answer No. 1: they come from Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary in large part.

Answer No. 2: Are you kidding. DCCs (development cost charges). It's the biggest kiting game going; the DCCs are greedily desired by our civic governments to pay for the infrastructure, et al that was not provided or provided properly by previous move-ins.

[Even Steven]

Where do these people come from and what do they do to be able to afford a new home anyway ???

1. Kelowna is one of the fastest growing communities in Kelowna for quite some time. People move here from Vancouver, Calgary, and other larger cities.

2. Some people actually consider Kelowna prices "cheap" comparing to what they're used to paying in those communities.

[Catri]

What needs to happen is to develop that requires less cars like develop up high rises downtown with more business offices but in Kelowna you pretty much need a car to do anything

You don't need a car here to "do anything", it's all about choices.

The whole idea that centralizing things downtown will create an urban utopia is a fantasy. Moving services into downtown, like IHA is doing, is just going to force more people to drive down there to work and to access those services. As for high rises, most people, especially the young families that City Hall is always saying they want to attract, don't move to Kelowna to live in an apartment. Building apartments doesn't change that. Moving services to a more central area makes way more sense, but the powers that be in this town have long had a giant blind spot to areas outside their precious downtown/lakeshore. Look no further than the idiotic location of our hospital for evidence of that.

[looking4one]

Where would all these people park their boats and cars?

[MAPearce]

1. Kelowna is one of the fastest growing communities in Kelowna for quite some time. People move here from Vancouver, Calgary, and other larger cities

So , these people that come from Van ,Calgary , Toronto etc. buy these homes in new sub divisions with money they've earned there and sit on them ?

I mean , of those people who MOVE here what are they actually doing HERE to afford the mortgage ?? The tech sector doesn't pay that much and Disney has been laying off Club Penguin employees. All the good paying Western Star jobs left years ago , manufacturing is in the tank , so is oil AND all all the support industries... I know of a steel fab place ready to shut their doors because the cost of operating it has become to much.

When I think of "saturation" , I think " How can so many people afford new homes in lavish neighbourhoods when the majority of Kelownians are either losing their jobs or schlepping double doubles for a living" ?

[sooperphreek]

Where would all these people park their boats and cars?

the city is wringing their hands with glee about the parking. with dollar signs dancing around their heads.

[looking4one]

Where would all these people park their boats and cars?

the city is wringing their hands with glee about the parking. with dollar signs dancing around their heads.

Why would that be? Is the city in buisiness of parking/boat storage rentals?

[sooperphreek]

for real? have you been downtown or around the hospital lately? parking is a very lucrative part of the equation for the city. and if you look around the eldorado and see how the "revitalization of the roads panned out.......they took away a ton of parking ability down there. why? hmmmm gee i wonder.