Seeking Election as RDOS Area E Director
2026
ROB BILYK
ABOUT ME
My career has taken me from highly technical roles to leading large teams in a publicly traded company, where I was responsible for complex projects, customer issues and supporting a team of roughly 180 people. I later became a co-owner of an engineering company, gaining hands-on experience with sales, strategic planning, operations, accounting and human resources.
Those experiences taught me how to work through complex problems, bring different perspectives together, make thoughtful decisions and remain accountable for results.
Several years ago, I made a deliberate decision to step away from day-to-day business life and focus more of my time on my family, my community and what I wanted the next chapter of my life to be about. I keep coming back to a simple goal: make the most of the time I have and leave things better for my children and future generations.
My family and I chose Naramata because we wanted to put down roots in a place where community still matters. Since moving here, I have tried to contribute where I can, including serving with the Naramata Volunteer Fire Department and as a First Responder, volunteering at the school and becoming involved in community initiatives.
I am seeking election as Electoral Area E Director because I believe my experience in leadership, business and problem solving can be useful — but just as importantly, I want to serve with a commitment to listen, collaborate, ask difficult questions and help our community make thoughtful decisions for the long term.
CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS
“I intend to communicate openly throughout this campaign, and this website will be the main source for everything related to it: campaign communications, planning source documents, the Planning Check-In, results and - as they are developed - my final platform and proposed long-term vision for Area E.”
Planning Context: Read the Source Material
A great deal of work went into the current Area E Official Community Plan (OCP), adopted in March 2024, but I am hearing different views about how well the final policies reflect the direction residents believed the community supported. The proposed Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) would also change how Naramata is treated in the regional planning framework. The September 3 update explains why I believe this is a useful time to review both and gather focused community input.
SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
As I continue meeting with residents and learning more about the issues facing Area E, I want to broaden the input I receive before finalizing my campaign platform and proposed long-term vision.
The Area E Planning Check-In is a short, focused way to share your perspective on some of the choices and priorities that are coming up most often in my conversations.
WHAT THE CHECK-IN COVERS
• The current Area E OCP and proposed Regional Growth Strategy
• Growth, major infrastructure and the future of Naramata Village
• Short-term rentals
• Wildfire mitigation, housing, services, year-round community spaces, young families and the school
• Climate and environmental resilience, community consultation and other priorities for the next Area E Director
The check-in takes about five minutes. It does not ask for your name or email address, and individual written comments will not be attributed to respondents.
The Planning Check-In will remain open until September 10, 2026. This will give me time to review the feedback, consider the themes I am hearing through other conversations, and incorporate that input as I develop my campaign platform and proposed long-term vision for Area E.
Aggregate results and major themes will be shared here as responses are received and reviewed.
This is a campaign-led community check-in, not an official RDOS consultation or scientific opinion poll. The RDOS is also accepting feedback on the proposed Regional Growth Strategy through its own process.