Sun Peaks council wants to limit people from buying residences to live in year-round in the village core.

A growing number of year-round residents are buying suites in the core, but the Official Community Plan says those units should be reserved for seasonal residents and tourists, according to mayor Al Raine.

“We’ll definitely be debating that at our next meeting, and I think members of council are concerned that we really want to limit the amount of year-round residential use that would be happening in the village core.”

“Anybody who is using a unit now would become legally non-conforming, and that use can continue on. So it’s not a question of throwing anybody out on the street.”

Raine says there are currently about 20 to 30 properties in the village core with year-round residents, which is less than five per cent of the available suites.

“Should this continue and a third of the village became residential properties, well then those residential people are less likely to be going to the restaurants for meals and to the shops on a regular basis, or as much as tourists would go,” Raine says. “The businesses in the village, the restaurants and the shops and that, are to look after tourists.”

A report on the subject was brought to municipal council earlier this month for information, and Raine says there wasn’t enough information at the time for council to make any decision yet.