Agenda Package - City of Vernon

Figure 2
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When the City examines major changes to policies and bylaws such as the subject
occupancy teim matter, it normally rèviews the related policies and bylaws in other
communities of similar size and circumstance as Vernon. Council has adopted a policy
which establishes a list of benchmark communities for such comparisons. These
communities are as follows: Kelowna, Penticton, Pitt Meadows, White Rock, Port
Moody, Cranbrook, Campbell River, Kamloops, Chilliwack, Mission, and North
Vancóuver. Osoyoos has been included in the subject comparison survey because it
contains several mixed occupancy term projects with permanent residency and tourist
rental provisions.
Kelowna: Kelowna has two main tourist focused zones in its zoning bylaw'
Both zones allow for the use "apartment hotel", which closely resembles
Vernon's tourist apartment use. Kelowna used to have a 180 day occupancy
requirement similar to Vernon's in its Zoning Bylaw t9 regulate the
apärtment hotel use. The provision was removed through a text
amendment. A Kelowna planner indicated their staff supported the removal
because it was a very difficult provision to enforce and monitor. The
amendment was includéd with a list of other amendments and was removed
without much discussion. The planner has not noticed any conflicts between
full time residency and tourist accommodation since removing the
provision, and no itrd¡es have been done on the availability of rental
accommodations in Kelowna since the change in regulation. The planner
also did not know of the percentage of rental accommodations compared to
full time residences in the properties affected by the change, but indicated
that there was a good availability of rental units for tourists. Kelowna has the
240 day stay provision for hotels and motels.
Synopsrs: -kelowna's waterfront and tourist areas feature many strata
rentai properties. Even though the 180 day occupancy requirements were
,emovèd, they feel they have a good mix of permanent residents and
available tourist accommodations. Throughout the year, Kelowna's
downtown contains a waterfront area comprising of hotels and multiple
family projects for permanent residency'
penticton: Penticton has five specific tourist commercial zones in their
zoning bylaw with one commercial residential zone, which deals specifically
with strata rental properties. The zone allows for full time residency and
rental accommodations and does not have specific ratios dealing with
tenure. The commercial residential zone was introduced into the zoning
bylaw in 2003 and includes uses such as townhouses and apartments
sþecifically for the travelling public. There are only a few properties with this
zäning in Penticton and tiey resemble the strata rental accommodation
prope'rties seen in Vernon. A Penticton planner indicated that vacation
renials operate all over the community in the summer as it is a busy tourist
place. Tne City does not actively regulate such rental situations' The
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