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Fed up with Kelowna having all the power combined with concerns about firefighting issues has led the North Westside area of the Central Okanagan regional district to ask to get out.

That’s the key message out of the North Westside Services and Governance Study that’s going to the regional district board tonight, Sept. 26.

The study examined a number of options for improvements, such as being its own electoral district within the Central Okanagan and setting up committees to give local residents more input on decisions affecting their area.

“The committee chose to focus on a single recommendation, rather than selecting multiple approaches, to ensure that the message from the committee was unequivocal to both the Regional District of Central Okanagan board as well as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs,” the report states.

That recommendation is the roughly 1,200 people living north of Wilson’s Landing join the Regional District of North Okanagan.

“Eighty per cent of (survey) respondents expressed discomfort with the situation — unique to Regional District of Central Okanagan and one other regional district — in which one jurisdiction (Kelowna) has the ability to control the outcome of weighted votes,” the report says.

Weighted votes apply to major financial issues, such as adopting to the financial plan, acquiring property and authorizing borrowing.

Kelowna has seven seats on the 13-member board, while Central Okanagan West, of which the North Westside is a part, has one representative.

When it comes to matters that require a weighted vote, Kelowna has 33 of 52 votes. Central Okanagan West has three.

One option was to break away from the rest of Central Okanagan West so it would get its own representative on the board. About 1,200 of that area’s 2,900 residents live in North Westside. That change would add another seat to the board.

“This increase would change the dynamic at the Board by denying the largest jurisdiction (Kelowna) the ability, through ‘block voting,’ to control the outcome of corporate unweighted votes in which all directors receive one vote,” the report says.

Still, the committee didn't want such an option to be considered.

“The Committee discussed options to address current service issues but expressed reservations about recommending any interim action that would require board support and Regional District of Central Okanagan resources, and potentially divert or delay the need to pursue the recommended option,” the report says.

The small population is not unusual when it comes to electoral areas in regional districts. There are five rural areas in the North Okanagan regional district ranging in size from about 1,000 to 7,000 residents.

If the North Westside were to join the North Okanagan, it would be physically separated from the Swan Lake/Commonage electoral area by Okanagan Indian Band lands that run about 24 kilometres along Westside Road. That, too, is not unusual since the Brent Road area is south of Peachland but is also part of Central Okanagan West.

In resident surveys, 73% felt they did not receive good value for the taxes they paid, with things like fire protection, water planning and emergency services getting the lowest satisfaction ratings.

“Concerns for fire protection and safety of the community were paramount,” the report says. “Risk from wildfires contributed to these concerns, but so, too, did the uncertainty surrounding the community's level of preparedness given its lack of a fire chief and the outstanding need for reliable generators to assist in the event of a wildfire event.”

There were 78 homes destroyed in the Ewings Landing and Killiney Beach area of the North Westside during the White Rock Lake wildfire in the summer of 2021.

READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: The devastation left behind by the White Rock Lake wildfire near Vernon

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