OK Falls ends stalemate, says 'Yes' to incorporation in critical referendum

The question has haunted the community of Okanagan Falls for decades. But Saturday night at approximately 9 PM, the haunting finally ended.

It was then that the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen announced the preliminary results of what is surely the most important referendum in the history of the little settlement on the south shore of Skaha Lake.

It was a simple ask: "Are you in favour of incorporating Okanagan Falls as a municipality?"

And in the end, by a slim margin of 588 to 512, voters in the region did what they’ve been unable, or unwilling, to ever do before.

They said "Yes."

What does it all mean going forward? It means OK Falls will soon become a self-governing entity. And that, says proponents, is the key to turning around a region that badly needs enhancement.

Detractors, meanwhile, will point primarily to a property tax increase.

But that argument ultimately wasn't enough to stem the tide.

A fatigued but upbeat RDOS Area D director Matt Taylor, a guy who's been in the eye of the incorporation hurricane even since he founded the Okanagan Falls Community Association in the fall of 2019, offered PentictonNow some post-result comments.

"I'm very pleased for the community," he said. "This decision has been a long time coming and was made through an open, transparent democratic process by informed voters.

And now, Okanagan Falls is going to be incorporated as a district municipality."

Taylor expressed hope that future leaders would remain level-headed, maintain fiscal responsibility and keep in mind concerns expressed during the process.

"The next steps," he said, "will follow toward the end of next week, in which we hope to lay out a roadmap as to the process for incorporation.

"But again, I'm very pleased for the community and I want to thank everyone for participating in a decision that’s such an important milestone in this community's history."

Given the time on a Saturday evening, we had but one question for Taylor: Does the less than overwhelming margin concern you?

"I think most difficult decisions are close ones," he said. "The fact that this has been ongoing for over 50 years tells us it was going to be a close decision no matter what.

"That said, the decision has been made. And it's time to move on."

We'll have more info in the days ahead on BC's most recently incorporated community. In the meantime, check out our five-part 2019 series on OK Falls that starts right here.