A proposed 10,000-square-foot recreation facility at 1882 Hovey Road in Central Saanich requires a $14.2 million loan bylaw approved by North Saanich, Central Saanich, and Sidney through the Peninsula Recreation Commission. The site is part of a larger civic redevelopment that already includes a new police station, fire hall, and municipal offices. Central Saanich has scheduled an OCP and zoning amendment public hearing to redesignate the property to Civic/Institutional, while a construction start was previously targeted for late 2026. The facility is meant to relieve capacity pressures at Panorama and Greenglade, both reported to be at or near their limits.
North Saanich council deferred its endorsement of the loan bylaw on May 11, 2026 in a 4-3 vote, pushing the decision to its June 29 meeting. A second 4-3 motion requested a CRD service delivery review that could recommend bringing peninsula recreation directly under municipal control rather than the regional district. Correspondence was 12 opposed to 4 in favour, with resident pushback centred on the per-taxpayer cost estimated at $73 annually for North Saanich — the highest among the three municipalities under the current assessed-value formula. The three supporting votes on the losing side cited the decade-long planning history and the risk that further delay would inflate construction costs, as had occurred with earlier recreation capital projects.
The June 29 deadline is the near-term gate. If North Saanich approves the borrowing bylaw, the entire civic campus project — including the rec facility — would move toward a site servicing and building permit phase that could release civil and building works in 2027. If the bylaw is further deferred or defeated, the rec component at minimum slips beyond its late 2026 timeline, and the governance review could fundamentally reorder how peninsula recreation facilities are funded and managed, with direct implications for any future public works on those sites. The broader civic redevelopment at 1882 Hovey Road, however, is proceeding under Central Saanich’s authority regardless of the rec facility outcome, so site preparation for the police, fire, and municipal office components would continue even if the regional recreation piece stalls.
A proposed 10,000-square-foot recreation facility at 1882 Hovey Road in Central Saanich requires a $14.2 million loan…