A group of pickleball players is demanding that North Saanich council reverse its decision to close the district’s popular outdoor pickleball courts, saying councillors did not follow proper procedures.
The ad hoc group says it has sent a letter, along with court documents, to council with the demand after reviewing the district’s bylaws and procedures and filing freedom of information requests that suggest mayor and council were biased in choosing to close the courts.
If the district does not reopen the courts at Wain Park, the group says it will file a petition with the courts for a judicial review of the council motion that closed the courts.
The group would present its argument that the decision was inappropriate and unlawful to a judge, who would make a determination, said Brian Harrigan, a pickleball player who is part of the ad hoc group.
“The district staff had commented that these courts were the most successful recreational facility in the history of North Saanich, and they’re locked and unused on a [sunny] day like today. It just doesn’t seem right,” Harrigan said.
A motion to close the courts was not on the council meeting agenda when councillors voted to shut down the facility, which is contrary to the district’s bylaws, Harrigan said.
An item must be added to the agenda through a previous notice of motion or added as a late item, he said.
In documents obtained through freedom of information requests, the group found that Mayor Peter Jones told residents concerned about the noise in 2023 he expected the courts would be closed by 2024, Harrigan said.
“He’s perfectly entitled to do that, but the difficulty was, at the same time, he was engaged in a process with the pickleball community and the pickleball association about problem- solving at the Wain Road courts,” Harrigan said.
The Saanich Pickleball Association and the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association plan to make a public presentation at the council meeting on Monday to present findings from sound-mitigation testing at courts in Carnarvon Park in Oak Bay in May.
The associations tested noise levels from pickleball at the Oak Bay courts to demonstrate the effectiveness of sound-mitigation measures, in an effort to show North Saanich how it can address noise concerns around the Wain Park courts.
The testing showed that both the volume and pitch of sound was significantly reduced by acoustic panelling, said Frank Gee, a member of the Saanich Peninsula Pickleball Association, who will present the findings.
Sound-mitigation measures at Wain Park would likely have a similar impact, Gee said.
The associations have received a cost estimate for acoustic panelling of around $35,000 and have offered to contribute financially and with volunteer labour to install the panels, Gee said.
The Victoria Regional Pickleball Association contributed $4,000 to the sound-mitigation measures at Carnarvon Park and it has made the same offer to North Saanich, vice-president Tessa Graham previously said.
North Saanich council has asked the Peninsula Recreation Commission to explore other locations for pickleball courts.
Jones did not respond to an interview request.
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