North Saanich could be in court trouble over its decision to close Wain Park pickleball courts

A group of North Saanich residents and pickleball players says if the mayor and council don’t repeal a motion that closed the Wain Park courts two months ago, it will ask the legal courts to order it.

“What we would do is file a petition to have a judge review and rescind that decision,” Brian Harrigan, a group spokesperson tells Capital Daily. “That makes it clear that it's not a personal lawsuit against anybody.”

The group said if the council doesn’t reconsider, it will move to apply the province’s judicial review laws to ask a judge to revisit the decision for serious errors or unfairness. And it said it had examples of both when the council voted 5-1 with one absentee councillor, to shut the courts on May 7 because of reportedly loud noise levels, accusations players were ignoring posted times to use the courts and allegations of bullying.

“Well, if I had to pick a number, I’d say 75% noise and 25% because of the way that the residents in that location were being treated,” is how North Saanich Mayor Peter Jones justified his vote to shutter the Wain Park courts to Capital Daily on May 3.

‍ Group says council didn’t follow its own rules

The group said after reviewing North Saanich’s bylaws and procedures, along with details gleaned from Freedom of Information findings, it concluded the council didn’t follow its council procedures when it voted to shut down the courts. For one thing, Harrigan said, there was no notice of the motion on the council’s agenda, making it impossible for dissenting voices to be heard.

“The implication is that their decision-making process was: (a) procedurally unfair, (b) based on irrelevant considerations not properly before Council, and (c) this had the effect of preventing residents from participating in the meeting or providing input on the decision,” the group said in its court filings.

Capital Daily sent emails to each member of the council and the mayor but didn’t hear back in time for publication. Rachel Dumas, deputy CAO/director of corporate services for the District of North Saanich responded to an email saying the district “does not have any comments to add.”

Says the fix was in possibly before the work to find a solution began

Harrigan said while pickleball groups were trying to work with the district to find ways to mitigate court noise, the mayor made promises to residents to close the courts, built seven years ago for $150K+.

“And that decision was sometime in 2023, so it was well before that collaborative process that was ongoing ended. In fact, it might even [have been] before it started,” Harrigan said.

Further, Harrigan tells Capital Daily, the group’s FOI request found no evidence to back up the mayor’s claims that some pickleballers had been abusive to nearby residents.

“These findings include the following: (a) accusing pickleball players of bullying and harassment without any evidence, (b) informing individual residents of the planned closure of the courts as far back as May 2023, well before the public engagement process was completed, (c) pre-determining the outcome of what should have been a transparent process,” the document reads.

The group said a letter containing these findings, along with documents, has been served to Jones

and the North Saanich Council. The letter demands that the motion to close the courts be repealed.

“This gives council an opportunity to positively address this issue without the necessity of engaging in litigation that they will likely lose,” the group said in a release. The group raised upward of $4K through a GoFundMe campaign to hire a lawyer with expertise in municipal law.

“We want to get to a resolution, we want to work towards that,” Harrigan tells Capital Daily.

“If that doesn't happen, we would take this other route and file this petition for a judicial review.”

‍ Pickleball associations not involved in the legal process

The Saanich Peninsula Pickleball Association (SPPA) and Victoria Regional Pickleball Association (VRPA) were not involved in the legal challenge. The SPAA denies the bullying accusations and insists the decision to shutter the courts came with little or no public input, transparency, or fiscal responsibility.

‍ Noise level study results to be revealed in the council on Monday

SPPA spokesman Brad Watson said it is scheduled to make a presentation at Monday’s council meeting to release the results of a sound study conducted at Carnarvon Park in Oak Bay.

“That will be the first time the mayor, councillors, and general public get to see it,” Watson tells Capital Daily.

Players took to the Carnarvon Park courts on May 15, to measure noise levels playing with regular and soft racquets and with regular and softer balls. Preliminary measurements suggest the sound panels and softer racquets made a difference. One test that morning found the ambient sound declined from 55 decibels (dBA) with players using regular pickleball paddles to 43 dBA when they switched to the low-noise Owl racquet, developed just down the street.

“The sound report has some very positive findings, showing that the acoustic fence panels reduce the overall sound by about 40 to 50%, including in the higher pitch/hertz range,” he said.

‍ Group says soundproofing would cost $35K, half of North Saanich’s estimate

Watson said the group could secure sound mitigation panels for $35K—considerably less than North Saanich’s estimate of $70K-$90K. Watson said the panels would be needed only for three sides of the courts, not four, as the district had said, and that the group could get the acoustic panels at a wholesale price.

Watson said the groups also will present findings from other BC municipalities that have successfully reduced sound levels at their pickleball courts using sound mitigation panels.