City Profile
Kelowna

British Columbia
Population: 127,380¹

  • Kelowna has the third most park groups overall at 79 groups, but has the most out of cities with less than 500,000 in population.
  • Kelowna is above average for percentage of parkland that is natural area at 69%.
  • Kelowna had the second highest capital budget of cities smaller than 500,000 residents with $22.3 million slated to be invested into parks.
  • Kelowna recently completed a master plan of Pandosy Waterfront Park. With a focus on paddle sports for people of all ages and abilities, it will feature universally accessible design elements—including the pier, washrooms and change rooms, plus a mechanical boat lift on site.
  • A new public art feature is one of several upgrades coming to Kelowna’s popular City Park. Selected from an international competition, the outdoor digital panel will promote emotional connection to cycling.
  • Kelowna continued the beloved Pianos in Parks program in summer 2020, installing pianos in five different parks, allowing people to enjoy music while following appropriate safety protocols.
2021 Data

10.0

ha parkland per 1000 people

1268 ha of total parkland

69%

of total parkland is natural area

874 total ha

11%

of parkland is environmentally significant/protected

139 total ha

6%

of total city land is parkland

21,777 ha of total city area

7

dog parks

10

Community gardens/urban farms

Mixed

Parkland provision goal (distance to park / ha per 1000 people)

Recreation Parks - serve 45,000 people within a radius of 5 km Community Parks - serve 12,000 people within 3 km Neighbourhood Parks - serve 2,000 people within 1 km

3.5

volunteers / 1000 people

448 total

79

community park groups

No

Policy to waive permit fees for groups with financial need.

$103

Parks operating budget per person

$13,140,000 total

$22,302,300

Total parks capital budget

$24,000

Total philanthropy/sponsorships

5%

Provincially legislated tools available for parkland dedication, acquisition and/or development

5% of the land area of subdivision type development or cash-in-lieu. Municipalities may also fund parkland through Development Cost Charges.

¹2016 data

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