Happy with a 'small town'

More than one-in-three Peachland residents do not want to see any housing development in their neighbourhood, according to a recent survey of residents.

Peachland council next week will review the results of the 2024 citizen survey, which saw a series of questions mailed out to 1,000 homes in the community. A total of 412 surveys were returned.

A question gauging support for new housing development in respondents' neighbourhoods saw 21% strongly opposed and 16% opposed. 29% were neutral, 19% in favour and 6% strongly in favour.

43% said they felt there were enough housing options in Peachland and 25% said they wished the community would grow at a slower pace or stop growing altogether.

58% felt the community’s population was growing at an appropriate pace, which was 0.7% in 2023.

Overwhelmingly, the most common response to a question asking residents' favourite thing about living in Peachland was “small town.”

The survey found that residents are very satisfied with the municipal waste collection system, fire department, Beach Avenue walkway and public library.

They were most dissatisfied with the state of local sidewalks, transit access, weed control, police and town planning/development.

Over 90% of residents indicate a “very good” or “good” quality of life in the District of Peachland.

While Peachland council will have plenty of feedback to consider in the results of the survey, younger residents and families are underrepresented in the data.

Nearly 80% of survey respondents reported that they were over the age of 55, whereas census data shows that cohort makes up 60% of the population.

Fewer than 10% of respondents reported having children under 19 in their household. Census data shows 30% of Peachland households contain children.

The full results of the survey are here.