Student Works MDP EXCERPT Amenity Migration to the Okanagan Valley BC, and the Implications for Strategic Planning

by Graham Beck

City dwellers in Canada are increasingly questioning the value of remaining in large cities. High living and housing costs and increasing stress in large cities are leading to a re-evaluation of values and what makes for quality of life. Meanwhile, the natural and cultural amenities, as well as increasing economic opportunities available in medium and small cities and towns in Canada are encouraging what can be called "amenity migration". My Master's Degree Project concerns regional growth issues in the Okanagan Valley resulting from high rates of in-migration since the late 1980s. Those from Vancouver and Toronto are attempting to escape (or cash in on) high real estate values in those cities. A movement to a more post-industrial or information based society, has enabled those in knowledge-based industries to locate outside of major metropolitan centres. Initial migration driven largely by natural amenities induces further migration through economic growth (e.g. construction) generated by it. According to Pat Montani, who moved to Kelowna from Toronto in 1990, and who owns a multi-media company specializing in electronic publishing: My partner and I believe that you no longer have to be in the big city to be considered a world-class company. . . . With telecommuting and the information highway, no longer do you have to be in the big city. You know, I could live in Inuvik and do what we do. (Montani, pers. comm., 1994). But the Okanagan is no Inuvik. Natural attractions that encourage migrants include, first and foremost, a very favourable climate by Canadian standards, followed by a number of natural amenities, including the lakes, mountains and 29 provincial parks offering an array of recreational activities. Principal cultural and human-created amenities include the Okanagan's agricultural heritage. Substantial fruit orchards and vineyards provide an atmosphere desired by most migrants: open space and a small-town country living or "rural sentiment" in proximity to urban comforts. The region, encompassing three regional districts, grew 14.1 percent between 1986 and 1991, to 240,291, according to Statistics Canada. B.C. Stats estimates that the Okanagan's population was at 284,647 in 1994, and will reach over 500,000 by the year 2021. Most of this growth has been due to in-migration, the magnitude of which has increased greatly since the late 1980s. Whereas for the 1982-87 period the top five major sources of migration to the Okanagan regional districts were non-metropolitan regional districts in B.C. (with one exception), this reversed in the late 1980s. For the 1987-92 and 1992-93 periods, the top five sources of net migration were Canadian metropolitan regional districts (or exurban regional districts adjacent to Greater Vancouver). Vancouver was previously the preferred destination for Okanagan out-migrants; however this trend reversed starting in 1988-89. Vancouver has become the single most substantial source of net in-migration to the Okanagan (1987-92 and 1992-93 periods), whereas previously it was the most substantial destination for out-migrants from the Okanagan. The second major contributor to each of the regional districts over the 1987-92 and 1992-93 periods was always an Albertan metropolitan area (Calgary or Edmonton). The Okanagan's amenities are threatened by the very population that they attract. Urban sprawl, the most visible problem, is exasperated by the existence of the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), which prevents most fertile agricultural land from being developed for urban use. Here there is a double-edged sword: more efficient (contiguous or nodal) land use would mean the removal of prime orchard and other agricultural lands. This necessitates the consideration of trade-offs for long-range planning, as discussed in my MDP. A "Charting a Course for the Okanagan" process, involving meetings of the three Okanagan regional districts, aimed at achieving a regional strategy to deal with the growth, began over two years ago. Unfortunately, so far little has been achieved, due to a lack of agreement amongst the three regional districts on how to proceed and a reluctance to spend tax dollars on such an initiative. Recent provincial legislation, through the Growth Strategies Statutes Amendment Act (1995) will likely require growth strategies on a regional district basis at a minimum, however the legislation is still quite vague on requirements or carrot and stick methods to ensure compliance. Meanwhile, the North Okanagan has begun a Greater Vernon growth management study and Central Okanagan has initiated a regional district process. For comparison, the Regional District of Nanaimo became one of the first non-metropolitan regional districts in British Columbia to complete a Growth Management Plan in September 1995. Its population, growth issues and migration from metropolitan areas very closely parallel those of the Central Okanagan regional district.

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