Foothills.

How Foothills took shape

The Foothills is a hillside Vernon neighbourhood on the lower slopes of Silver Star Mountain, above the rural BX. A sewer trunk main arrived in 1986, the first residential lots were created in 1987, building peaked between 2005 and 2009, and a 2013 neighbourhood plan maps room for about 1,944 homes.

The Foothills climbs the western flank of Silver Star Mountain between Silver Star Road and the BX, a rural district named for the horse ranch Francis Barnard started north of Vernon in 1864. Below and across the slope runs the Grey Canal, the gravity irrigation ditch built between 1906 and 1914 that carried water to orchards and farms until 1970. Today its old route doubles as the Grey Canal Trail through the neighbourhood. Suburban growth followed services. A sanitary sewer trunk main was extended up the hill in 1986, and the first residential lots were created in 1987. Building carried on through the 1990s, and the busiest stretch came between 2005 and 2009. Census counts for the plan area rose from 831 people in 2006 to 1,361 in 2011, and in 2008 about 212 acres of private land were annexed into the city.

Vernon adopted the Foothills Neighbourhood Plan in October 2013. At that point the area held 521 homes, 478 of them single family houses, and the plan allowed for about 1,944 units at full build out. Water comes from the Greater Vernon Water utility through pump stations and reservoirs, and Silver Star Road is the main way in and out. Today the Foothills reads as a newer view neighbourhood with big looks over the valley and lakes. Many streets carry ski hill names such as Apex, Nakiska, Sun Peaks and Red Mountain. Much of the land is steep, some of it over 30 percent grade, and it sits inside the city's wildfire interface area, so slope, drainage and FireSmart checks belong on every buyer's list.

1. 1864Francis Barnard starts the BX horse ranch north of Vernon. Source
2. 1987First residential lots created, a year after a sewer trunk main was extended to the area. Source
3. 2008About 212 acres of private land annexed into the City of Vernon. Source
4. 2013Foothills Neighbourhood Plan (Bylaw 5455) adopted on 15 October. Source

The homes & their setting

Lots from 1987 on, with most homes built from the 1990s to the 2010s: detached family houses, custom view homes and walkout ranchers, plus a small share of townhomes (43 of 521 homes were multifamily in 2013). Mostly freehold.

Building age, tenure, amenities and permitted uses vary by address. Explore the actual property documents with Elaine and the appropriate specialists.

Places with a story

• Grey Canal Trail: Silver Star Foothills — Follows part of the 50 km Grey Canal, BC's longest gravity irrigation system from a single water source, in use from 1906 to 1970. History source