Council discussions about the future of pickleball courts in North Saanich turned heated Monday evening, prompting a warning from the mayor that he would end the meeting if members of the public didn’t remain quiet.
Councillors voted to direct staff to conduct a study on the possibility of building six pickleball courts in Blue Heron Park and report back with a cost estimate for construction, sound-mitigation measures and a public engagement strategy for nearby residents.
They voted against a motion by Coun. Jack McClintock to consider a sound-mitigation study and to direct staff to report back on a cost estimate for acoustic panels on three sides of the now-closed Wain Park courts. The study, provided by pickleball associations, shows that sound-mitigation measures at Oak Bay’s Carnarvon Park reduced pickleball noise to levels similar to tennis.
Councillors voted to permanently close the Wain Park courts as of May 7 because of noise concerns, sparking upset in the pickleball community and an ongoing court battle.
“I would hope that council would understand that to relocate the Wain Road pickleball court would be a gross error,” McClintock said at the meeting.
Moving the courts means “the total destruction of an established recreational site in our community that the taxpayers have used and cherished, that we paid for with taxpayers’ money,” he said, calling the idea of removing a community asset “unprecedented.”
Coun. Celia Stock said moving the courts to a different park doesn’t have to mean ripping up the current courts, which cost the district about $150,000 when they were built.
Mayor Peter Jones agreed, saying they could be repurposed for another sport.
McClintock’s motion failed, with only McClintock and Stock voting in favour.
That led to boos and obscenities from members of the public and a break in the council meeting.
People watching the meeting described it as a “trainwreck,” said Brad Watson, president of the Saanich Peninsula Pickleball Association.
Watson said people are frustrated and feel that council members “don’t want any type of public engagement on any of their decisions.”
In an interview, Jones said he will do what he believes is in the best interest of residents.
“They’re entitled to their view,” he said of critics. “Anything that council does will please some people and disappoint others. That’s part of the job.”
A group of pickleball players has filed a legal petition for a judicial review of the council motion that closed the Wain Park courts, arguing councillors violated the district’s bylaws when they held the vote, as the issue was not on the meeting agenda.
The district has until Aug. 26 to file a response.
The Saanich Peninsula Pickleball Association and the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association have offered to contribute about $8,000 toward the cost of acoustic panels, which they have estimated at $35,000.
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