The ball remained in the public’s court Thursday night after the District of Saanich decided to hold a third consultation meeting on the future of a proposed clay-court tennis facility at Cedar Hill Park.
“At the end of the meeting, we still had about 30 people who wanted to speak,” said Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard. The council heard from 56 people that night and 41 at a Nov. 28 meeting. A third meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Feb. 1 at the Garth Homer Society, 813 Darwin Ave.
“I’m dismayed the community is so divided,” Leonard said.
“Parks and recreation are usually win-win.”
Saanich is considering whether to give the go-ahead to a group of tennis enthusiasts who want to build the region’s first clay-court tennis facility next to the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, on the site of a pair of baseball diamonds.
“We’ve had extensive community engagement on this, and there is overwhelming support,” said John Miller, president of the not-for-profit Cedar Hill Clay Court Tennis Society. He cited two years of presentations and a proposal that was revised based on public feedback.
The $1.3-million project would be partially financed through the non-profit group, which is also asking for a $250,000 interest-free loan from Saanich and a $100,000 grant. Membership and event revenue is estimated to be about $400,000 a year.
“This is great for the region and for Saanich,” Miller said.
But not everyone agrees.
For Susan Haddon, a member of the Save Cedar Hill Park group, the question is not about whether the park or district should host tennis courts, but about taxpaying residents being left out of the planning process.
“My main concern is the community wasn’t consulted about what we see as an appropriate use for the park in general,” Haddon said. “And that public land would be given to a private club to use.”
Haddon said that other concerns with the courts range from environmental issues to the loss of green space.
“What we really need to do is go back to square one and ask the residents of Saanich what their vision is for Cedar Hill Park,” she said. “Saanich taxpayers are the ones who paid for this park.”
