Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wants planning efforts to be prioritized to identify a strategy to expedite a new replacement Kitsilano Outdoor Pool.
A member motion by Sim and City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung is expected to be approved by members of the ABC Vancouver party majority in City Council next week.
This would “affirm the value of the iconic Kitsilano Outdoor Pool by committing to an urgent process to reimagine and replace the pool as a priority action for this Council,” reads the motion.
This follows the Vancouver Park Board’s surprising announcement on June 5 that the popular outdoor pool will not open at all for the 2024 summer season. At that point, it was supposed to have already been open for weeks.
However, Park Board staff noted that despite the interim repair efforts made earlier this spring to bring the pool’s condition to a bare minimum operational capability, a significant amount of water is still leaking, which makes it very challenging to balance pool water chemicals for safe use.
Park Board staff first made the pool’s issue public in late 2023 when they revealed it is leaking 30,000 litres of water per hour. This leakage is mostly seawater, not potable drinking water, with seawater coming into the pool and then leaking out.
The continued closure of the pool throughout the summer will enable the Park Board to perform more investigative work and repairs, but it casts doubt whether the existing pool structure — built in 1979 to replace the original 1931 structure — will ever reopen without a complete overhaul.
The renovated Kitsilano Pool in early May 2018. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Sim and Kirby-Yung’s motion states that City staff will work in partnership with Park Board staff to urgently complete a report on all measures that can be taken to temporarily reopen the pool for short-term use until a new “reimagined” pool is ready.
Additionally, City staff will expedite the feasibility study work in partnership with the Park Board, with the aim of designing a new facility that is “more resilient to climate change, storm, and storm impacts.” It is also suggested that a new facility could contain expanded amenities and features, such as whirlpools, steam baths, and a greater level of accessibility.
The pool replacement project would be incorporated into the City’s upcoming 2026-2030 capital plan.
The motion also includes the direction of identifying various costing and funding options, including exploring the possibility of funding at least a part of the cost from sponsorship opportunities, which ABC has previously deemed to be a broader revenue generation strategy for the City. The motion specifies that this outdoor pool replacement should be deemed a “prime, priority sponsorship opportunity.”
Responding to the “significant public affection for Kits Pool,” City staff will work with Park Board staff to report back by the end of July 2024 — before the summer break through mid-September 2024 — with a plan for consideration to create a dedicated fund for the public, corporate, and philanthropic sectors to contribute and donate to the capital costs related to the new pool, including plans for a communications campaign to support fundraising efforts.
Earlier this spring, Park Board staff also recommended the need to conduct a feasibility study for a replacement facility.
The outdoor pool is jointly managed and operated by both the City and Park Board. This motion is the largest instance in memory of City Council taking a particularly strong direction on the future of a major recreational facility with a likely significant capital cost, as the separately elected Park Board typically proposes strategies related to the parks and recreation system for final plan and funding approval by City Council. Next year, the provincial government is expected to approve ABC’s request to change legislation that enables the abolishment of the elected Park Board and the transfer of the governance of parks and recreation facilities to the Mayor and City Council.
On the north side of English Bay, the municipal government is also in the process of conducting planning work for the new replacement Vancouver Aquatic Centre at Sunset Beach Park in the West End. Revery Architecture has been contracted to perform design work, which is expected to be completed later in 2024 for public consultation, and construction is targeted to begin in 2026. Vancouver Aquatic Centre is also in very poor condition due to its age, with instances of falling exterior concrete. The replacement carries a budget in excess of over $150 million, including a childcare facility.
Next week, City Council is also expected to approve ABC City Councillor Lisa Dominato’s separate motion to direct City staff to create strategies for operating outdoor cold plunges and saunas in appropriate locations, including underutilized commercial and industrial spaces.
Kitsilano Outdoor Pool. (Eric Buermeyer/Shutterstock)