A development application that would see the home of the Delta's only squash club demolished will go to a public hearing later this month.
Delta council considered the application Monday to subdivide a lot at 6788 Corbould Rd. in Boundary Bay into two lots to build a single-family house on each. Civic politicians agreed to send the proposal to a hearing despite opposition from squash club users and a petition with 410 signatures, names that were not all Delta residents.
The Bayside Squash Club had been operating in a building at the waterfront location for over 30 years, although the Official Community Plan designation for the site is singlefamily residential. A subdivision is not consistent with the current designation, so a rezoning application was submitted.
Several club members were in attendance Monday to hear the discussion around the council table.
A staff report to council stated those objecting noted the long history of the property for commercial uses, the fact the club is the only squash facility in Delta and the wish that it continue as a fitness club.
A delegation from the squash club appeared last week at a council workshop, where members said the club offers more than the three squash courts, including a fitness room
and other features.
Saying club membership has declined by 50 per cent to 122 paid members due to the uncertainty about the new property owner's rezoning plan, the members asked council to give the site a recreational-commercial designation to bring it to its fullest potential.
Bayside Squash Society member Louise Latremouille told council during Monday's meeting that Delta would lose a viable recreational facility if the rezoning went ahead.
"What will council do to replace the squash court in South Delta that council would have aided in destroying in the rezoning?" she asked.
Parks and recreation director Ken Kuntz said the question of how to fulfill the various recreational needs is something his department faces all the time and a review is done on an annual basis.
Council approved sending the application to the Feb. 24 public hearing with Coun. Robert Campbell saying the applicant has the right to be heard.
The facility, purchased by a numbered company and represented by Yan Ling Wu, is in poor condition and would require significant funds to have it upgraded to municipal standards, according to community planning director Jeff Day. The facility is also not designed for public assembly, nor is it designed to accommodate current B.C. Building Code requirements, he told council in a
memo last month.
The club says its has an active group of members working hard at keeping it running, even though they are not able to use the facility to its fullest.
