Building permit activity in Summerland in 2025 has been considerably more active than in previous years, according to figures from the municipality.

From January to April, Summerland has issued 77 building permits, with a total construction value of $40,025,033.

This is by far the highest figure on record for the same time period in recent years.

In the first four months of 2022, Summerland had issued 67 building permits with a total construction value of $14,554,000. During the same time frame in 2024, Summerland issued 54 building permits, with a total construction value of $7,228,500.

In April alone, Summerland issued 24 building permits, worth $2,837,000 in construction value.

Brad Dollevoet, director of development services for Summerland, said the April figures are on par with the past five years.

At the same time, Dollevoet noted that the municipality has not received any new subdivision applications and only one rezoning application.

While this may be a result of the added flexibility in the zoning bylaw, Dollevoet said it could also be 鈥渁 larger symptom of developers holding projects until macroeconomic trends improve,鈥� he said in a report to council.

鈥淟arger uncertainty in markets and in Canadian economic conditions may be adding to this hesitancy.鈥�

Since the beginning of the year, Summerland has had some significant building permits. These include a permit worth $4.5 million, issued in January, for the renovation of the Summerland Middle School building, and a permit for the affordable housing project on Henry Avenue, issued in February, with a construction value of $24.2 million.

The dollar value of building permits issued in Summerland so far this year already exceeds the entire 2024 year. In 2024, Summerland issued 194 building permits, worth $35,189,132.

The most active recent year for building activity was 2021 when Summerland issued 203 building permits with a total construction value of $59,775,300.

While building activity remains robust, the municipality is also noticing encampments of unhomed people.

鈥淭here are several new unhomed individuals in town this year, who have migrated from other nearby communities, that have indicated they have no desire to return to the major centres even though there are no supports and services available in Summerland,鈥� Dollevoet said.

Municipal staff have removed five smaller encampments in the community.