Okanagan Indian Band reaches agreement to purchase O'Keefe Range for $26.8 million

Photo: OKIB

The Okanagan Indian Band has reached an agreement to purchase the sprawling O’Keefe Range lands overlooking Vernon.

For $26.8 million, the band will receive 2,310 acres of land between the OKIB reserve and the City of Vernon.

The OKIB community will have the next three months to learn more about the land, the purchase agreement and will also vote on whether the community should pursue the deal.

If the deal is voted against, the band will be refunded its $30,000 down payment.

The large tract of land was listed in the fall of 2020 for $28.8 million.

Members of the band must give their formal consent to the deal, which will be decided by a vote in January. The purchase agreement gives the OKIB 90 days to gather community approval, plus an additional six months to secure financing to close the deal.

Two financing options have been proposed. The first, is to have the federal government make a down payment on the colonial claim and buy the land, as a portion of the O’Keefe Range is already part of a land claim between the OKIB and Ottawa.

The second would be to borrow money from a commercial bank and turn a portion of the land into a development to pay for it.

OKIB Chief Byron Louis feels it is necessary to get the land back to its original owners, and sees it as a good investment.

“I believe it is our duty to return this land to the original owners,” says Louis. “The land is adjacent to our border, and it will be sold to someone. Opportunities to expand the reserve do not come around often, and we are in a good position to act. For posterity, we need to add these 2,310 acres back to the reserve.”

The property includes 315 acres designated in a neighbourhood plan as medium-term residential development in the East Bella Vista Neighbourhood Plan.

A release sent out by the OKIB states the property could be considered suitable for development. Nearly 300 acres of land is already designated in the City of Vernon’s Official Community Plan for multi and single-family homes.

Key dates in the process include Dec. 7, when a community forum will be held via Zoom. In early January, in-person community engagement sessions will begin, and in the last week of January the community will be asked to vote on the deal.

By the end of July, the OKIB must come up with $26.8 million to finalize the deal.