Proposed Parksville Aquatic and Recreation Centre - The Facts
June 7, 2021
The City wishes to provide information about the proposed Parksville Aquatic and Recreation Centre; these facts will address the inaccuracies presented on social media.
- The proposed multiplex site is not located on the wetland feature, about 400 metres to the north. We do not expect the proposed project to impact the wetlands which is 35.4 hectares or 90 acres.
- Most of the facility is envisioned to be located on non-parkland parcels owned by the City.
- A small section of park, about 0.8 hectares or less than two acres is shown as providing potential parking and access for the multiplex facility as well as the Parksville Wetlands.
- The wetlands will not be logged. The proposed location assists with preserving second growth trees to the south of the site as noted in the environmental overview assessment report prepared by WSP Canada, and along with all reports, available on Let’s Talk Parksville.
- The preliminary environmental assessment indicates the watercourses in the project area do not interact with the wetland features; channels enter the City’s storm system at Despard Avenue.
- Further environmental and hydrogeological assessments will be done to address water flow on the project area. The intent is to enhance the watercourse features and explore options to enhance the wetland features to the north.
For phase 1 of the feasibility study for the multiplex, the Despard Avenue site was selected by a majority of Council as the test site for conceptual design and further consideration. Council can reconsider its decision if there are compelling technical reasons, and if community input suggests a willingness to incur extra costs for acquiring private lands or upgrading offsite infrastructure to serve alternate sites.
An advisory technical working group will assist the public and Council by reviewing the technical aspects of the design construction and operation of the project and to provide neutral expert advice on the recommendations contained in the consultant reports.
Project consultants have started their work on the next phase of the project and over the next two weeks, details will be provided which will include timelines for assessments and public engagement. Please refer to Let’s Talk Parksville for information about this project.
For more information:
Deb Tardiff, Manager of Communications
dtardiff@parksville.ca; 250 954-3073
