Explore Kelowna by sector

Rutland and the east

The east side — a district that was its own place until 1973, the hillside above it, and the farmland the city has agreed not to build on.

3 neighbourhoods on the east side of the city. Rutland was a separate district until amalgamation in 1973 and still has its own high street, its own recreation park and the strongest sense of somewhere-else in the city — as well as the cheapest housing in Kelowna and the youngest population. Black Mountain climbs the hillside above it into newer subdivisions with long views. Ellison, further north, is mostly farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve, plus the airport.

Rutland carries a reputation in Kelowna that the numbers only partly support, and it is worth walking rather than inheriting: it is where the city's most affordable ownership is, where the 2040 plan directs a great deal of new mid-rise, and where the CMHC survey found the loosest rental market in the region at 7.5% vacancy. Above it, the calculation changes completely — Black Mountain and Ellison are wildfire-interface addresses, and the FireSmart requirements, insurance quotes and evacuation history all deserve checking before the view does.