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Letter to Kelowna Mayor and Council, by the President of the Kelowna Citizens Safety Association, regarding the City’s Membership and Financial Relationship with the Urban Development Institute (UDI)


The following letter was written on November 24, 2025:

To: Mayor Tom Dyas and Members of Kelowna City Council
City of Kelowna
1435 Water Street
Kelowna, BC V1Y 1J4

Subject: Conflict of Interest – City of Kelowna’s Membership and Financial Relationship with the Urban Development Institute (UDI)

Dear Mayor Dyas and Members of Council,

On behalf of the Kelowna Citizens Safety Association (KCSA), we are writing to express serious concern regarding the City of Kelowna’s ongoing relationship with the Urban Development Institute (UDI) Okanagan Chapter, a registered lobby group that advocates for the interests of the development industry. UDI is formally registered as a lobbyist at both the provincial and municipal levels, including under the City of Kelowna’s own Lobbyist Registry. Its stated purpose is to influence government policy related to housing and land use. According to UDI’s public materials, the City of Kelowna is listed as a paying member of the organization, creating an inherent conflict of interest: Council is supporting, and simultaneously being lobbied by a group seeking to shape development policy and legislation in this city.

While developers certainly have a role to play in building our communities, they also have a responsibility to engage the public and serve the long-term interests of residents. The current dynamic, wherein the City partners with a development lobby group that advocates for top-down provincial legislation, undermines transparency and public confidence.  The Official Community Plan (OCP), Kelowna’s foundational planning document, is being repeatedly amended to align with the Province’s Housing Needs Reports (housing quotas) contained in Bill 44. These changes are being implemented without meaningful community consultation and under a legislative model that now makes it unlawful for members of the public to speak at public hearings to support or oppose certain development applications. The Province has adopted a top down approach, and municipalities are left to implement changes over which they have increasingly little control.

The role of municipal government must be to act as stewards of the community, not merely an administrative arm of provincial housing policy. City Council’s membership in a development lobby group that supports and promotes this shift raises legitimate concerns about impartiality and public accountability.  We therefore urge Council to immediately withdraw from the UDI and end all financial involvement with lobby organizations whose mandate is to influence local policy. The appearance and the reality of conflict must be addressed.

The importance of honoring your Oath of Office, which includes acting with integrity which is fundamental to maintaining the public trust. Now more than ever, residents look to their elected officials to stand up for transparency, community voice, and local democratic control. Working together, we can still shape the future of Kelowna, but only if municipal leadership chooses to serve the community and not the lobbyists.

We trust Council will consider this matter seriously and withdraw your membership in the UDI. We look forward to an early response and notice that you are dropping your membership in this organization.

Sincerely,

Lloyd Manchester
President
Kelowna Citizens Safety Association (KCSA)

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Index of articles revealing major lobbying influence on B.C. Provincial Housing Bills and Housing Targets. – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of articles regarding lobby events and other meetings between government and lobbyists. – CRD Watch Homepage