Our Community

The District of West Kelowna, formerly "Westside District Municipality," with its 28,793 citizens, was officially incorporated on December 6, 2007. Up until that day, the area was governed by the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) and the Province of BC and was the largest unincorporated area in the province. Three elected representatives from the Westside Electoral Area sat as directors on the 11-member RDCO board to speak for citizens on the west side of Okanagan Lake, between Peachland and the W.R. Bennett Bridge. For many years the topic of incorporating the west side of Okanagan Lake into a stand-alone municipality was discussed at RDCO and provincial tables and at the community level. Three previous attempts at incorporation occurred: one in 1974 which ended before a referendum, a 1980 referendum resulted in 87% opposing incorporation and in 1993 a Westbank-only incorporation referendum was defeated by 66%.

But the June 16, 2007 referendum decided the governance question. Taxpayers voted 84% to change from Regional District to municipal status, and 51.1% in favor of incorporation over amalgamation with the City of Kelowna. The referendum was the culmination of the work of the Westside Governance Committee, a 12-member committee with six representatives elected at a community meeting and six appointed by Westside Electoral Area directors. This core group was joined by twelve ex-officio members representing the Westside improvement districts, RDCO Directors, City of Kelowna Mayor and Council, and the Westbank First Nation Council. This valued work produced a close scrutiny of the different governance options available, presented in an 8-week public education initiative leading up to the referendum.

Four months after the referendum, area residents were participating in the first election campaign for a mayor and six councillors. On November 17, 2007 residents elected Mayor Rosalind Neis and Councillors Doug Findlater, David Knowles, Gord Milsom, Duane Ophus, Heather Pilling and Carol Zanon.

Mayor Neis and Council were inaugurated on December 6, 2007 in a ceremony attended by Hon. Ida Chong, Minister of Community Development, MLA Rick Thorpe and many dignitaries from neighbouring jurisdictions. The Letters Patent officially declared “Westside District Municipality” as an incorporated municipality.

Council set the stage for a quick transition from previous government by establishing its Strategic Plan 2008, with two key goals to be kept in mind—fiscal responsibility and public consultation.

November 2008 saw the municipality’s second election with Mayor Doug Findlater elected. Council conducted an opinion poll on the name of the community in conjunction with the Nov. 15, 2008 election of Mayor and Council. The opinion poll indicated a majority (82%) of Westside residents want a new name for the District with “West Kelowna” gaining the most support (48%).

On Dec. 9, 2008, Westside District Council approved the name “West Kelowna”

for the District and the Letters Patent were officially changed by the Province of BC January 29, 2009.

To date Council and staff have accomplished a great number of goals in the Strategic plan, moving ahead on many items sooner than expected.

For more information, see Strategic Priorities