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An agenda for this meeting is available on the SPMRM website, and you can view a recording of the meeting via the municipality's YouTube channel.
Here are the highlights of the meeting:
Five-year financial plan and budget
Council met in a committee of the whole meeting prior to the regular council meeting to discuss the draft 2026 to 2030 Financial Plan.
Council is required to adopt a five-year financial plan by bylaw annually, and municipal director of finance Cheryl Taylor-Gale took questions from both council during the April 28 meeting and the public on April 30.
Annual impacts of this plan will vary depending on property values, but for an average $1 million residential home the proposed eight per cent tax increase will raise costs by about $105 per year, or $9 per month. The water rate increase costs about $21 per month, or $258 annually for a six-bed unit.
Following the public consultation, the plan will receive a first, second and third readings on May 5, followed by adoption on May 12. Residents can contact Taylor-Gale at dof@sunpeaksmunicipality.ca with any questions or concerns.
SPIN will share a more in-depth explainer on the plan next week. For now, you can review the plan here.
Sun Peaks Housing Authority annual update
Coun. Len Hyrcan updated council on the Sun Peaks Housing Authority as chair, reporting on the strategic plan, BC Builds project, financial situation and more.
Hyrcan covered the authority’s key focus areas, which include housing development, property management, funding and strategic partnerships, community engagement and organizational governance.
Despite challenges in funding since the health authority was established in 2018, Hyrcan offered reassurance of the organizations goals and objectives.
“I just want to emphasize that the Sun Peaks Housing Authority is live. We've got a dedicated board of directors, and we're reaching out to the community on a variety of different channels to provide more timely information on the BC Builds project and where we're headed.”
Jessie Abraham, housing manager, updated council on the work being done at 1180 Sun Peaks Rd., a 110 unit housing development supported through the BC Builds program, with funding assistance from BC Housing and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
“We estimate that the roof will be complete by November of this year, and we are on track for summer 2027 completion which means move-ins would start shortly after that through the fall [2027].”
Thirty per cent of the units, around approximately 33 units, will have below-market rent at 80 per cent, offered to those with lower income.
Per BC Builds income requirements for singles and couples, households must earn under $143,000 annually to qualify for studio and one bedroom units, and the income cap for folks with dependents is $212,240. There is no minimum income requirement.
While BC Builds sets the income requirements, the housing authority is responsible for establishing tenant eligibility criteria.
To come up with this criteria, the housing authority looked to similar employee developments in Whistler, Squamish, Tofino, Canmore and Breckenridge.
The authority proposes that individuals be employed by a Sun Peaks business, working at least 26 hours per week, for a minimum of eight months out of the year. This does not apply to spouses of applicants.
Self-employed applicants must earn 75 per cent or more of their income locally, hold a valid business licence and operate from a Sun Peaks-based address.
Exemptions include retirees and persons receiving a disability pension who are unable to work but who previously lived or worked in Sun Peaks.
These requirements would need to be incorporated into municipal policy.
The following additional requirements would be defined by the Sun Peaks Housing Authority's tenant selection policy.
According to these requirements, units must be occupied as a primary residence and subletting is not permitted. The selection process would give preference to those who have lived in Sun Peaks for at least six months, with second priority given to residents of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
Residents in this location would not be allowed to own real estate, with an exemption for local businesses who take on a lease for an employee.
“The way this would work is the business will be responsible for rental payments, and then they will recover rent from their staff, and the intent is that the business can hold that unit for employees,” Abraham said.
These criteria are proposed, and Abraham said she hopes there will be a finalized policy for the community and businesses by the fall of this year.
Financial assets of the Sun Peaks Housing Authority include construction in progress worth $5.25 million and cash and receivables worth $72,000. Liabilities include $5.2 million in construction financing, $4.29 million and payables and holdbacks totaling $946,000. The authority’s equity totals $84,000 in retained earnings from operations.
“Our financial structure reflects the fact that we are in a BC Builds partnership, and we're using their model to fast track this particular construction project,” Hyrcan said.
Sun Peaks Skate Park Foundation presentation
Peter Wilson from the Sun Peaks Skate Park foundation came to council with a presentation to move forward on the skate park, an endeavor that has been ongoing since 2012.
Providing an overview and timeline, Wilson shared what the foundation has achieved and where it is in the process of bringing the skate park from concept to reality.
As of 2026, the foundation has completed all the “heavy lifting” to get to the point of shovels in the ground. Now the final skatepark design and 3D rendering are complete and the foundation is seeking fundraising, sponsorships and grants.
The presentation included a slide with a “path to advancement,” which stated that “progress is currently limited by the absence of a finalized municipal agreement,” but Wilson stated there would be conversations between the foundation and municipality at a later date.
According to the slide, “many grant opportunities require a collaboration with the municipality to submit applications,” and “sponsorship and fundraising efforts depend on an agreement and progress plan being in place.”
Sun Peaks Housing Authority amendment of Articles of Incorporation
Council approved the amendments to the Sun Peaks Housing Authority articles of incorporation and board of directors qualification and selection criteria guidelines.
The current articles of incorporation designate board members from specific categories and organizations, which has become limiting, chief administrative officer Deanna Campbell explained.
“It has also become clear that the board would benefit from specific knowledge, experience and expertise of individuals with certain backgrounds,” she added.
The proposed changes will allow some director positions to be assigned to community members, and to have the chief administrative officer of the municipality as a director, which is similar to Whistler’s Housing Authority, Campbell explained.
The changes will also implement staggered terms for directors to avoid significant turnover.
“In addition to the amendments, administration worked with the housing manager to develop guidelines that outline the selection and qualification criteria for board members,” Campbell said. “This is something that didn't exist before, and the goal is to assist the board with vetting and council with appointing future board members.”
While council approved the amendments, the changes also need to be approved by the province.
FireSmart activities progress update
Sun Peaks Fire Rescue fire chief Dean Schiavon summarized the achievements made through the FireSmart program since starting work in 2015.
“Most of the major achievements have happened in the last few years in regards to FireSmart activities, but Sun Peaks has been doing forest fuel management since 2011,” he said.
Schaivon highlighted key wildfire risk reduction initiatives, community engagement activities and program investments that have contributed to increasing community wildfire resilience.
Key programs include FireSmart property assessments, community chipping programs, structure protection capacity, FireSmart program coordination, public education and outreach, planning and program development, training and professional development and forest fuel reduction.
“In 2019 we had 26.29 hectares prescribed and 16.39 treated,” Shaivon shared about forest fuel management. “We've had pretty much increases every year since on our prescriptions. We have a little bit of slow down..but we are…going to be prescribing 8.8 hectares in 2026.”
The future funding of the FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program is currently under review by the province, according to the report to council.
“Sun Peaks continues to advocate for sustained, long-term funding for wildfire risk reduction and FireSmart initiatives,” it read.” At this time, no information has been released confirming that the program will continue.”
“The loss of this funding would shift a substantial financial burden from the province to the municipality,” Shaivon told council.
Shaivon also updated council on the number of calls the Sun Peaks Fire Rescue responded to, which are at an all time high for this quarter. From January to March, the fire rescue responded to 70 calls, up from 46 calls this same period in 2025. Of those, 12 were fire incidents, 36 were medical calls, five were road rescue incidents and 17 were service calls.
“Sustained increasing calls reflects growing service demands and places significant operational pressure on both staff and volunteers,” Shaivon said. “I'd like to formally commend our members and your continued professionalism and dedication and responding to the extraordinary number of calls.”
He noted there was a large increase in medical calls.
“There were a lot of really sick people that were in Sun Peaks,” he said. “It was interesting to see, we hadn't seen quite an increase in medical calls like that before.”
Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 0228-002, 2026
Council approved a Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw which will address unexpected expenditures, capital project cost overruns and updates to the 2026 budget.
The main changes include the use of contingency and reserve funding for emergent 2025 costs, adjustments related to the municipal surface water pipeline project, and the inclusion of new and revised capital projects in 2026.
Questions or concerns or direct quotes to include
Rezoning Amendment No. RZ-2026-002 at 8-3250 Village Way
Flight Deck Enterprises Inc. is undergoing a site specific zoning application in order to relocate from 1160 Sun Peaks Rd. to number 8-3250 Village Way. The owners of the store had to undergo a similar site specific rezoning for their current location in the west village, adjacent to the Burfield West development.
Their future location is in the village core, specifically in the Sun Peaks Grand Residences building.
The current zoning bylaw, requires all cannabis retail sales to undertake a rezoning as the use is prohibited in all zones, including zones broadly permitting retail.
To read more about why the owners of Flight Deck are seeking this relocation read our full story.
The application received two readings and will now continue to a public hearing in conjunction with a regular council meeting in the future.
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