Regular Council Meeting–May 27, 2025

City Hall front exterior

Delegations

Out of the Cold Shelter Society

Renee Stein, Executive Director, and Judy Reed, Board President, Out of the Cold Shelter Society, provided Council with an update on shelter operations at the Stuart Wood School site. In 2024, Out of the Cold saw over 10,000 intakes into shelter, with about 1,500 unique guests coming through their doors. They also had over 685 visits to their group wellness programs and introduced a new program called Olive Branch, which provides shelter beds to seniors with complex needs. The program is showing success in transitioning seniors, some of whom have been without proper housing for years, into longer-term housing.

Kamloops Community Volunteer Services

Melisa Dyck, Snow Angels Coordinator, Kamloops Community Volunteer Services, provided Council with information on the Snow Angel project, which helps seniors and people with mobility issues by shovelling snow from their sidewalks and driveways. In 2024, 95 Snow Angel volunteers supported 229 clients with snow removal services, a substantial increase from 2023. The program is looking to recruit more volunteers, particularly in the Brocklehurst, Westsyde, and North Shore neighbourhoods. In 2025, the organization is starting an Adopt a Street program, where Snow Angels can sign up to support multiple people along a street and help with their shovelling needs.

Consideration of Bylaws

Rezoning for Multi-Unit Residential Development in Upper Sahali

Council adopted Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 55-95 and later authorized Development Permit No. DPM01018 allowing for the construction of two additional buildings, one with 67 units and the other with 135 units at 1415 Summit Drive. The subject property is an existing multi-unit development with two 44-unit residential buildings with a total of 88 units. View the full report to Council from the April 15, 2025, regular Council meeting.

Rezoning for Multi-Unit Residential Development in Brocklehurst

Council adopted Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 55-90, allowing for the construction of a multi-unit residential development at 1898 Parkcrest Avenue. The applicant intends to develop a three-storey, 10-unit townhouse development. A future development permit application will indicate the final design. View the full report to Council from the May 6, 2025, regular Council meeting. 

Public Input

 Council passed a motion to suspend public input opportunities for the remainder of 2025. 

Reports to Council

Kamloops Transit 2023–2024 Annual Performance Summary, Calendar Year Statistics, and 2025/2026 Annual Operating Agreement

Nii Noi Akuetteh, the City's Transportation Engineer, and Daynika White, Government Relations Manager, BC Transit, provided Council with the 2024 calendar year transit performance statistics, the 2023/2024 Annual Performance Summary, and the 2025/2026 Annual Operating Agreement.

Ridership on all Kamloops Transit routes continued to grow and ranked competitively compared to peer systems. Custom transit ridership also saw continued growth. Financially, the system exceeded expectations with higher-than-projected revenue and cost recovery, while overall operational costs declined compared to the previous year.

The 2025/2026 Annual Operating Agreement between the City of Kamloops and BC Transit outlines plans for service expansions and funding allocations. Key initiatives include increasing service hours on core routes, improving on-time performance, and extending services to underserved areas, including the Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc community. These efforts align with the City’s strategic priorities, emphasizing safety, inclusivity, and sustainability. The agreement is set to be signed by June 14, 2025.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Housing Accelerator Fund Update

Marvin Kwiatkowski, the City's Development, Engineering, and Sustainability Director, provided Council with an update on a $11.9 million grant application through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Housing Accelerator Fund to support housing development over the next three years. The City was notified in March 2025 that our second grant application was unsuccessful. A total of 62 applications were awarded funding out of 235 submitted.

Since we were unsuccessful in our application for the $11.9 million in grant funding, the following options will be pursued: 

  • Increase the pace of operationalizing the Community Land Trust through seed money from the Land Sales Reserve
  • Acquire land for the Community Land Trust through revenue generated through the sale of existing City-owned lands deemed unsuitable for land trust purposes
  • Continue pursuing grant opportunities for infrastructure projects
  • Review and update the existing Development Cost Charges Bylaw in 2025/2026 to include new growth-related infrastructure projects resulting from the 2024 provincial legislative changes, the updated Housing Needs Assessment, and the 2025 Official Community Plan update

In response to the report, Council passed a motion to send a letter to the Prime Minister, to the Minister and Shadow Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, and to our two local Members of Parliament expressing Council's concern with the lack of grant funding and the disconnect between provincial housing target priorities and the priorities of federal grant funding.

Public Engagement Opportunities

 Council received an update on upcoming community engagement opportunities, as listed below.

Featured Engagement Opportunities

  • Let’s Talk Communications: The City is asking residents how they would prefer to hear about City initiatives, programs, services, and news.
  • KAMPLAN: Official Community Plan Update 2025: Changes to provincial legislation in 2023 require local governments to update their Official Community Plans to accommodate anticipated housing needs over the next 20 years and address specific housing types. The City will provide information on some of these changes at a series of engagement sessions. Events are open house style, and residents can drop in anytime between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm to view information boards and ask questions of staff on the following dates: 
    • June 11, 2025 - Yacht Club, 1140 River Street
    • June 18, 2025 - West Highlands Community Centre, 1185 Links Way
    • June 19, 2025 - Kamloops Sports Council Office, McArthur Island, 101--1550 Island Parkway
    • June 24, 2025 - Valleyview Community Hall, 2288 Park Drive
    • Project details are available at LetsTalk.Kamloops.ca/KAMPLAN.

Follow On Let's Talk Website

Subscribe to ongoing projects to be notified when engagement opportunities arise:

Notices of Motion

Councillor Bass' Notice of Motion: Advocacy Efforts and Opportunities for Partnerships Addressing the Crisis for the Unhoused, presented at the May 6, 2025, Council meeting, was considered. In response, Council resolved that City staff: 

  • review the advocacy efforts that Council has undertaken during this term
  • consider other advocacy opportunities that could strengthen the partnership between Council, the Province, Interior Health, BC Housing, and local agencies to support investment in the social and health services, facilities, and housing that will address the unhoused crisis
  • provide a report to Council that summarizes advocacy efforts to date and new opportunities to pursue

Committee Reports

In response to recommendations from the May 13, 2025, Committee of the Whole meeting, Council approved a scheduled fare increase every two years until 2029 (Option 4), as presented in the Transit Fare Review report dated May 13, 2025. Council further authorized staff to work with BC Transit to implement the approved transit fare structure for September 2025

Councillor Reports

In response to a report from Councillor Neustaeter, Council passed a motion to resend the City's downloading report to the provincial government along with a letter of opposition to Bill 15, requesting that it be withdrawn.

Correspondence

Council received correspondence from Dr. Gord Lovegrove, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, and in response passed a motion to send a letter in support of a $3 million Indigenous-led planning study as a next step in the UBC Okanagan Valley Rail research project.