Don't demolish old Kelowna homes to make way for development, recycle or move them
As Kelowna’s population grows the city is trying to densify housing and that means replacing single-family homes, but a business has proposed that those homes can be repurposed rather than destroyed.
Renewal Development and Light House Sustainability Society from the Lower Mainland are advocating that single-family homes should be relocated or deconstructed so the materials can be salvaged.
Between 2012 and 2019, there was an average of 188 single-family homes torn down each year in Kelowna, according to a media release from both companies. They also say the city saw 2,602 housing starts in 2023 and the city’s population grew by 16 per cent in three years to 168,097 in 2024.
Renewal Development expects demolition rates to grow by 35 per cent over the next 10 years as Kelowna continues to make room for denser housing. The developer said that 20 per cent of homes that end up slated for demolition are in good condition and could be relocated to communities that need single family homes.
“There is still so much life in many of these homes and we are just throwing them away,” Renewal Development CEO Glyn Lewis said in the release. “Municipalities have a social and fiscal responsibility to be part of the solution.”
Renewal said that another 40 to 60 per cent of these homes could be deconstructed and the materials repurposed for other construction projects.
The city has a mandate from the province to build more housing and in order to build more housing units it has decided to densify neighbourhoods in the city's centre. There were 1,501 new units completed between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2024 and the provincial mandate was for 1,363.
READ MORE: Kelowna surpassed provincial housing targets in 2024
Following these recommendations the developer said that the city could avoid sending between 11,580 to 15,440 tonnes of demolished homes to landfills over the next decade as the city's housing needs increase.
“Municipalities have a significant role to play in diverting construction, renovation and demolition waste through the implementation of bylaws prioritizing home relocation and deconstruction over demolition,” Light House’s managing director Gil Yaron said in the release. “Home relocation and deconstruction is a win-win for municipalities – stimulating local economic activity and helping achieve net zero carbon goals.”
The developer’s report has four specific recommendations for the City of Kelowna.
The first idea is a pre-demolition assessment to require single-family homes slated for demolition to be inspected to decide if they could be deconstructed and recycled or picked up and moved somewhere else.
The developer also recommends the city force demolition permit applicants to pay a $19,500 deposit that would be refunded if the home was relocated or its materials are recycled.
To speed up the process Renewal recommends the city allow single-family homes to be relocated or recycled before a building permit is approved.
Renewal also wants the city to lead by example and relocate or deconstruct city-owned buildings as well.
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