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Kelowna’s Lifestyle has Positive Impact

The Daily Courier charts the growth of entrepreneurial efforts in the Central Okanagan with this report about business starts

By Steve MacNaull

The Daily Courier

 

Keith Kostek is a prime example of how the Okanagan lifestyle attracts business.  “I got to 40 and I decided I should be enjoying every day, not just the weekends,” said the owners and operator of Impact Radio Accessories.

  So, Kostek moved himself, his wife, two young children and four staff to Kelowna from Toronto.

  “Everybody’s happier,” he said.

  “We like to ski, waterski, golf and hike, so Kelowna is perfect and all of those activities are so close.  In Toronto, you spent so much time at work and in the car that you could only really do anything on the weekend.”

  It didn’t take much convincing for Impact’s four staff to make the move West.

  They were all for dumping the congested life of Toronto and setting up in Kelowna where they have many big city amenities, with a laid-back, recreational lifestyle.

  But business is still getting done.

  Impact designs and distributes accessories for two-way radios and walkie talkies used by military, police and for special events.

  For instance, its headsets, surveillance equipment, batteries and battery chargers are used by the US military, New York City Police Department and special-event organizers ranging from the Ryder Club golf tournament and Miss America pageant to the Grammy and Academy awards.

  “We design the radio accessories and have them made in the Far East,” Kostek said.

  “And then we distribute them to 1,800 dealers throughout North America.  We also have two warehouses in the US that employ nine staff and we have 35 sales representatives all over the continent.”

  When Kostek initially got fed up with Toronto, he considered relocating to Vancouver for the West Coast lifestyle.

  But that was still a big city and its house prices being higher than Toronto’s stalled him.

  Then, he talked to some friends who’d already made the move from Toronto and Kelowna and loved it.

  “We’d never been to Kelowna, but we got on line and saw how beautiful and business friendly it was,” he said.

  “We took a risk and we bought a house with a great view in Upper Mission over the Internet.  The house was built in 1968 and needed a lot of work, but my wife Gillian is an interior designer, so she’s done an amazing job having it fixed up.”

  They were able to buy the much-bigger Kelowna house for the same price they got for their smaller, semi-detached home near downtown Toronto.

 

Charting the Boom

University professor studying effects of population growth is himself part of the phenomenon

By J.P. Squire

The Daily Courier

 

Carlos Teixeira is not only part of the Okanagan’s rapid population growth, he’s here because of it and is teaching UPC Okanagan students about it.

  The population of the Central Okanagan Regional District ballooned by more than three percent to 173,026 in 2006 compared to 2005, and has increased by almost 20,000 since 2001.

  Kelowna’s population growth was also above three percent last year and is now at 112,275, according to BC Stats.

  Teixeira, an urban social geographer, brought three new courses to the Okanagan’s new university:  the population of geography, the geography of migration and settlement, and the geography of housing policies

  “I tell my students I just came to a mid-sized city from the big cities of Toronto and Montreal.  I tell them the beautiful Okanagan Valley is the gem of Canada, no doubt, but it’s growing too fast and we have to think seriously about growth,” he said Tuesday.

  “I’m not against growth.  Growth means prosperity; growth more jobs.  However, growth also means challenges like affordable housing, maintaining sustainability, an adequate water supply, an aging population, urban sprawl.”

  In the face of such challenges, “it is important to ask:  what type of growth do we want?” he asked.

  “My students are not against growth, but they are looking at the future.  Most of my students were born and raised here, and they want to stay in the Valley, but jobs are a major problem.  We need to keep our brains, our youth, in the Valley,” he said.

  Migration was the focus of this week’s classes:  who comes to the Okanagan and who leaves.

  “Huge houses are being built all over the Valley, so it is important to ask:  where will urban sprawl stop?  Should we build vertically (highrises)?” he asked his students.

  “I use newspapers like the Daily Courier extensively in my classroom because I believe no one is following population growth more closely than journalists,” he said.

  “We all need to work together on these challenges.   As scholars, I believe we can make a difference.  We can contribute through our research.”

  Teixeira is encouraging even more debate by brining two urban scholars, Dr. David Ley from UPC Vancouver and David Hulchanski, director of the Center for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto, to UBCO for morning lectures on March 28.

  They will then take part in an afternoon round-table discussion at a city-sponsored conference, Housing Sustainability in the Okanagan Valley, at the Rotary Center for the Arts.

 

B.C.’s Fastest-Growing Region

New Statistics show Central Okanagan’s population continues to surge.

By J.P. Squire

The Daily Courier

 

The Central Okanagan is growing faster than any other regional district in the province, according to the latest figures from B.C. Stats.

  City planners are skeptical of the 3.04 percent growth in the regional district and especially the 3.01 percent growth in Kelowna, while regional district planners aren’t surprised.

  Gary Setphen, the city’s long-range planner, notes he uses B.C. Stats figures when preparing his annual development statistics summary for city council.

  “We issued a huge number of building permits, particularly in December, for multi-family.  However, sometimes it takes up to three years to complete them,” he said.

  “I tend to be more conservative, so I would estimate the population at 111,000-111,500.  Of course, as soon as we put pen to paper, we’re probably wrong,” because the population continues to grow, Stephen added.

  He bases his figures on the number of units not yet built, those built, but not yet occupied and an increasing number of units owned by those who don’t live there.

  “We’re all seeing the growth,” said Bruce Smith, the regional district’s communications coordinator.

  “I talked to the planning people, and they’re not surprised by that three percent figure.  In 2006, the planning department had a total of 142 applications – everything from re-zonings to development permits.”

  Those range from a two-lot subdivision to a 750 – unit, multi-family tower for the Westbank area, he said.

  There is also a lot of development being planned that doesn’t necessarily translate immediately into single-family housing, apartment, condo or resort seasonal units, he added.

  The regional district is facing those challenges through projects like the Lakeview and Glenrosa sewer extensions, which will serve almost 900 properties.

  “It does bring a lot of challenges, so we’re trying to work with the development community as they bring projects to the regional district to develop the best use of land we can,” said Smith, who posted the new population statistics on the regional district website Monday.

  Regional economic development commissioner Robert Fine added the rapid population growth changed the focus of his work.

  “The focus has shifted from attracting new businesses, like call centers and large-scale manufacturers.  People are not moving to the Okanagan for work, but for other purposes,” he said via cell phone from a Las Vegas trade show.

  The commission’s aim is now at sustainable and appropriate businesses.

  “The easiest way to do that is to deal with existing businesses, and we’ve been quite successful.  Five years ago, we retained 84 percent of businesses from year to year.  Today, it’s over 90 percent.”

  The latest B.C. Stats figures show the population of Lake Country as 10,668 compared to 9,672 in 2001.  Peachland has 5,369 compared to 4,857 in 2001.

  Regional district staff are now3 using the figures of 39,924 for the Westside and 4,290 for Central Okanagan Ease – Ellison, Joe Rich and the South Slopes outside the city limits.

  That makes the Westside larger than Vernon at 36,785 and Penticton at 34,669.