Your voice matters.

Contact Kelowna decision makers to help protect the city’s Heritage Conservation Area and encourage thoughtful planning that respects its heritage character. Residents and community members can help by respectfully contacting elected officials and asking them to support planning that protects the HCA’s heritage character, mature trees, streetscapes and human scale.

We support thoughtful growth and additional housing. We are asking for an approach that allows housing needs and heritage conservation to coexist.

Contact Kelowna Mayor & Council

Kelowna City Council has an important role in determining how provincial housing legislation is implemented locally and how heritage conservation is addressed through municipal planning.

Email Mayor & Council: mayorandcouncil@kelowna.ca
Phone: 250-469-8980
Mayor & Council website: kelowna.ca/city-hall/mayor-and-council

When contacting Council, consider including your name and neighbourhood, explaining why the Heritage Conservation Area matters to you, and asking Council to protect its established heritage character while accommodating thoughtful housing growth.

Ready to Write to Council?

We’ve prepared a dedicated letter to Mayor and Council about protecting the Abbott Street Heritage Conservation Area from the current Transit-Oriented Area zoning. You can read the letter, personalize it, and send it directly to Council.

Contact the Province of British Columbia

Provincial housing legislation has significantly changed how municipalities plan for housing and Transit-Oriented Areas. The Province also plays an important role in clarifying how these requirements interact with Heritage Conservation Areas. Residents can contact provincial representatives to ask that heritage conservation remain an important consideration as housing policies are implemented.

Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs

Hon. Christine Boyle
Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs

Email: HMA.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 236-478-3970

Official ministry page:
BC Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs

Minister of Transportation and Transit

Hon. Mike Farnworth
Minister of Transportation and Transit

Email: TT.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Official ministry page:
BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit

Contact Your Local MLA

Members of the Legislative Assembly represent Kelowna residents at the provincial level. Because decisions involving provincial housing legislation can directly affect local planning and heritage conservation, residents are also encouraged to share their concerns with their MLA.

Kristina Loewen — MLA for Kelowna Centre

Kristina Loewen, MLA
Kelowna Centre

Email: Kristina.Loewen.MLA@leg.bc.ca
Phone: 236-361-0679

Constituency Office:
101–215 Lawrence Avenue
Kelowna, BC V1Y 6L2

Official Legislature page:
Kristina Loewen — Legislative Assembly of BC

Contact Kelowna Decision Makers: What to Ask

When contacting elected officials, messages are most effective when they are respectful, personal, and specific. You do not need to write a long letter. Explain why the Kelowna Heritage Conservation Area matters to you and ask decision-makers to support a solution that accommodates new housing while preserving the area’s established heritage character.

• Protect the Kelowna Heritage Conservation Area from incompatible six-storey development.
• Use the tools available to local government to protect heritage within the Transit-Oriented Area.
• Support housing growth that is compatible with the HCA’s established scale and character.
• Protect mature trees, green space, historic streetscapes and other defining features of the neighbourhood.
• Ensure heritage conservation is meaningfully considered in future planning decisions affecting the HCA.

Personal messages are especially valuable. Consider explaining what connects you to the area—as a resident, hospital patient or employee, visitor, heritage supporter, neighbour, or someone who simply values this unique part of Kelowna.

Sample Message to Decision-Makers

Subject: Please Protect Kelowna’s Heritage Conservation Area

Dear [Mayor/Councillor/Minister/MLA],

I am writing to ask for your support in protecting Kelowna’s Heritage Conservation Area while allowing thoughtful housing growth to continue.

The HCA is a unique part of Kelowna, defined not only by its historic homes but also by its mature trees, established gardens, human-scale streetscapes, walkability, and connection to the city’s history.

I support the need for additional housing, but I believe new development within the Heritage Conservation Area should be consistent with the existing character of the neighbourhood. Six-storey development within portions of the HCA risks permanently changing many of the qualities the area was created to protect.

Please support planning solutions that allow housing and heritage conservation to coexist, and use the tools available to protect the HCA’s historic character, mature tree canopy, green space, and streetscapes for future generations.

Thank you for considering my concerns.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Neighbourhood / City]

Learn More Before You Write

Before you contact Kelowna decision makers, you may want to learn more about the history, current issues, and planning decisions affecting the Heritage Conservation Area.