Peachland鈥檚 signature charm was the centre of a council discussion during the July 8 Committee of the Whole meeting.
As the district works through a minor review of its Official Community Plan (OCP), councillors wrestled with how to protect the community鈥檚 鈥渟mall town character鈥� while still planning for inevitable growth and meeting provincial housing mandates.
Urban Systems, the consultant leading the review, presented updates on the plan, which was adopted in 2018. The review is intended to align the OCP with updated legislation and growth trends while refreshing development permit guidelines and clarifying policies.
But it was the section on Peachland鈥檚 character that launched a 20-minute debate among council members.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e looking to focus on what resonates with this community, I don鈥檛 think that we should be representing them with commonly found buzzwords,鈥� said Coun. Alena Glasman. She felt the current description could apply to almost any B.C. community.
She also raised concerns that some residents may not fully understand the trade-offs involved in 鈥減reserving鈥� Peachland鈥檚 character.
鈥淸It] technically means no development, no growth, no increasing of infrastructure, no increasing of density to preserve Peachland and the small-town character that seems to mean something different for everyone,鈥� she said.
Coun. Randey Brophy argued that development doesn鈥檛 have to erase character.
鈥淲hat you have to do is tailor the development so it promotes what the small town is good for,鈥� he said.
He noted Peachland has the longest stretch of public beach in the Okanagan鈥攜et no hotels on Beach Avenue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a gimmie," he added. "That doesn鈥檛 change the small-town character of Peachland, it just accentuates what Peachland has.鈥�
Coun. Keith Thom said it鈥檚 council鈥檚 job to find out what that character means to the people who live there.
鈥淪o that we follow along the lines of the majority of our residents,鈥� he pointed out.
Mayor Patrick Van Minsel reminded council that times have changed.
鈥淲e need to, ideally, preserve as much of Peachland as we can. But we need to let some density (development) happen here and there.鈥�
He also highlighted the growing pressure to meet housing targets.
Peachland鈥檚 Housing Needs Assessment鈥攁lso part of the OCP鈥攕hows the district will need 494 new housing units over the next five years and 1,650 within 20 years. According to the OCP, existing zoning and current development applications could meet those numbers.
Van Minsel stressed the need to communicate this clearly to residents.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a fact that we need around 100 a year just to keep our property taxes manageable,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o see that we don鈥檛 have the 20 or 30 per cent increases that some other municipalities had.鈥�
But building those homes could come with pushback.
鈥淚 remember at one open house鈥 had a person stand up鈥nd the comment 鈥榃e don鈥檛 want those kinds of people in our neighbourhood鈥欌�攁s if people who live in townhouses have devil鈥檚 horns,鈥� Thom said.
Coun. Terry Condon voiced frustration over what he saw as low engagement in the OCP process so far.
鈥淚 find it very disappointing that we鈥檝e got only 135 responses from our community,鈥� he said.
Urban Systems consultant Daniel Sturgeon noted that the project is a minor review, so engagement was scaled accordingly.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate, I agree with you. We will provide what information we receive to council.鈥�
Van Minsel floated the idea of a larger event later in the year.
鈥淲here, as a council, we sit with our consultant, and we will have way more information then鈥nd say, 'Now it鈥檚 your time to give us your feedback.'鈥�
Engagement so far has included a community open house and BBQ in June, two pop-up events in July, and an .
The minor is expected to wrap up in early 2026.
