The town\u2019s purchase of Eaglecrest Golf Club is a central issue for voters, many of whom attended a standing-room-only all-candidates meeting on Monday.<\/p>\n
Surveying the crowd squeezed into the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre on Monday night, Kevin Monahan announced that the event would \u201cnot focus on the purchase of Eaglecrest Golf Course.\u201d<\/p>\n
The quip by the president of the Qualicum Beach Residents Association generated a titter from the approximately 650 people at the standing-room-only all-candidates meeting, hosted by the association.<\/p>\n
Monahan said in a later interview that the huge turnout was likely due to Eaglecrest being a central issue for voters this municipal election.<\/p>\n
The purchase of the 105-acre golf course by the Town of Qualicum Beach for $8.5 million in November of 2025 has been a point of contention for many residents of the community of about 9,300 people.<\/p>\n
It will allow for residential development, including seniors housing of up to five storeys, in the Eaglecrest neighbourhood, on the eastern side of Qualicum Beach. Older residents make up more than half the population in Qualicum Beach, where the median age is 67.5, according to Statistics Canada census data.<\/p>\n
The Eaglecrest neighbourhood currently consists mainly of single-family homes, a few buildings that are four storeys and one that is five storeys.<\/p>\n
So far, the community is split on whether the golf course purchase was a good idea, Monahan said. \u201cI think there\u2019s a much larger dissatisfaction with the fact that a lot of programs have been pushed down the road because of the Eaglecrest purchase,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd some people might think it\u2019s unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was clear in many candidates\u2019 answers to questions posed on Monday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis town has kind of lost its focus,\u201d said mayoral candidate and former MLA Adam Walker, in response to a question about the town\u2019s housing priorities for the next five to 10 years.<\/p>\n
Walker pointed to council\u2019s decision last October to reject a proposed three-storey, 125-unit independent and assisted long-term care living facility described as \u201ctoo imposing\u201d by a councillor who voted against it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey turned down 125 long-term care beds, and yet they rezoned parts of Eaglecrest for five-storey buildings. I don\u2019t think that council should be in the business of playing developer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Walker also said private housing developments such as the one in East Village \u2014 a mixed-use urban neighbourhood revitalization project \u2014 were delayed because the town was putting its energy into a public development that\u2019s \u201cfrankly not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Incumbent mayoral candidate Teunis Westbroek, who is seeking a seventh term as mayor, countered that with the Eaglecrest purchase, the town now has land to use for different types of housing, \u201cso let\u2019s use it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other plans put on hold because reserve funds were diverted toward the golf course purchase included a planned needs assessment on whether the local Seniors Activity Centre required more space, said candidate and former councillor Robert Filmer, who is running for council again after serving from 2018 to 2022.<\/p>\n
The golf course deal came up again when questions were raised about increasing transparency on council. Not enough information was coming out publicly from in-camera meetings, said two-term council candidate Scott Harrison. \u201cI had to actually break the rules once to refer to the Eaglecrest buildings report, which we had for about a year, which we never formally released and had no reason to withhold,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n
When it comes to major projects such as Eaglecrest, the town should clearly show what was approved, what has been spent and what remains to be decided, \u201cbecause transparency builds public trust,\u201d said incumbent councillor candidate Jean Young.<\/p>\n
For local resident Annette Hester, who attended Monday\u2019s all-candidates meeting, much of the issue comes down to this question of transparency \u2014 especially around the full cost of the golf course purchase and the risks involved for taxpayers.<\/p>\n