Ask the New Park Board to Pass the VAC Pause Motion at Its First Meeting on November 2.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal halted the demolition of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre until November 3, 2026 – the day after the newly elected Park Board's inaugural meeting on November 2. The board's first regular meeting isn't until November 30. Unless the new board acts on November 2, the City can resume demolition the very next morning.
Renovation was never properly assessed. The feasibility study specified in the consultants' RFP was never delivered – even though the City's own engineering consultant found retaining the building's key concrete elements “feasible and practical.”
We've drafted a member's motion that any commissioner can introduce under Other Business. Email the incoming commissioners and ask them to move and pass the motion on November 2, pause the demolition until they've seen the full record, and decide the future of the VAC in public.
Email the incoming Park Board below
[Subject: Evidence Before Excavators — Pause the VAC Demolition]
To the Commissioners-Elect of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation,
I am writing to ask one of you to introduce a member's motion at your inaugural meeting on November 2, under Other Business, pausing demolition of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre until the board has seen the record and can decide its future itself.
The motion is drafted and ready to move: https://assets.saveourvacpool.ca/vac-motion.pdf
On October 13, 2026, the BC Court of Appeal halted all demolition work at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre until November 3, 2026 — the day after your inaugural meeting. Your first Regular Board Meeting is not until November 30. Unless the board acts on November 2, demolition can resume the very next morning, before any of you has been briefed on the project.
That matters, because renovation was never properly assessed:
- The RFP for the project's consultants specified a feasibility study of renovating the existing building. That study was never delivered. The decision to demolish was made without it.
- Where renovation was examined, the finding was encouraging: the City's engineering consultant, Ausenco, concluded in February 2023 that retaining and remediating the building's key concrete elements is “feasible and practical.”
- The City's January 2024 procurement documents stated the facility “will expand to approximately 135,000 square feet,” with roughly 125,000 square feet for aquatics — room for a 50-metre pool.
- The VAC is downtown's only 50-metre pool and one of only two indoor 50-metre pools in the city. Once it is demolished, that choice is gone for a generation.
Candidates across this election campaigned on delivering a 50-metre pool for Vancouver. The one we already have is still standing.
Under section 488 of the Vancouver Charter, the Park Board has exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control of the City's parks, including the VAC site. The motion reverses no previous decision and preserves every option, including proceeding as planned. I ask you to:
- At your inaugural meeting on November 2, introduce the motion under Other Business and pass it, suspending all demolition and site work at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.
- Receive the full planning, design, engineering and procurement record at your November 30 meeting — including whatever renovation assessment was actually completed.
- Then decide the future of this facility in public, with that evidence in front of you: renovate it, rebuild it with a 50-metre pool, or proceed as planned.
A pause costs four weeks. Demolition is permanent. The Court gave you the choice. Please don't let a demolition schedule take it away.
Sincerely,
Concerned Taxpayer and Community Member