Where the money went: Eaglecrest Golf Course

Council bought Eaglecrest Golf Course for $8.5 million. With course work, land servicing and neighbourhood work, the Town’s project budget is now $21,199,800.

What residents told Council

On October 6, 2025, Council held a public hearing on rezoning the Eaglecrest land. 42 people spoke. 34 opposed the rezoning. 4 supported it, and 4 did not address it.

The most common worry was what would be built: more density, taller buildings and a changed neighbourhood. Many also said the process was moving too fast, with a tight deadline and information missing. Others raised the forest, wildlife and flood spillway, traffic, and the risk that costs go beyond the $8.5 million purchase.

Concerns of the 34 speakers who opposed the rezoning
Concern	Main reason for	Also raised by
Density, height, neighbourhood character	11	13
Forest, wildlife, flood spillway	5	6
Property values and views	4	3
Process: speed, deadline, missing information	3	9
Traffic and safety	3	6
Financial risk beyond $8.5 million	2	4
Town acting as both developer and regulator	2	1
Infrastructure and health (asbestos pipes, pesticides)	2	0
East/west imbalance	1	6
Commercial use at Eaglecrest Dr / Country Club Dr	1	8
No affordable or workforce housing in the plan	0	1
Speakers opposed	34

All 4 supporters said public ownership is better than private development. Several also said they trust Council and staff, and that this is a rare chance to fix a neglected course and closed clubhouse.

How this was counted: from the meeting video (public comments, 34:46 to 3:39:00). Each speaker has one main reason, the one they led with or spent the most time on. “Also raised by” counts speakers who mentioned it beyond their main reason. The video’s captions were generated automatically and may contain errors.

Where the $8.5 million came from

As approved by Council on July 23, 2025.

Purchase funded from
Source	Amount	What it was for
Growing Communities Fund (provincial grant)Provincial grant rules	$2,000,000	One-time 2023 grant from the Province ($3,346,000) for community infrastructure and amenities. Had been set for Saahtlam Park, pickleball courts, the bus garage and workplace modernization. $41,597 left at the end of 2025.
General Fund accumulated surplus	$1,275,000	General-purpose surplus. No repayment is scheduled.
Qualicum Beach Land Reserve Fund	$1,200,000	Land.
Open-space development cost chargesRestricted by law	$700,000	Paid by developers. Can only pay for park and open-space capital.
Community amenity contributions	$650,000	Paid by developers for community amenities. The Town says this included the $450,000 Affordable Housing Reserve.
Strategic Initiatives Reserve	$400,000	The fund most community requests draw from. $400,000 was approved; the Town’s 2025 records show $542,000 borrowed.
Park Land Reserve FundRestricted by law	$275,000	Cash in lieu of park land. Can only be used to buy park land.
Subtotal: existing reserves, surplus and grant	$6,500,000
Future sale of Town-owned land	$2,000,000	Not yet received.
Total purchase price	$8,500,000

What the tags mean

Three of the funds used came with rules set outside Council.

Park Land Reserve Fund ($275,000): restricted by law. Money developers pay instead of handing over park land. It can only be used to buy park land. (Community Charter, s. 188–189)
Open-space development cost charges ($700,000): restricted by law. Fees on new development for the parks growth needs. Capital costs only, such as buying or improving park land. (Local Government Act, s. 566)
Growing Communities Fund ($2,000,000): provincial grant rules. A one-time 2023 grant for community infrastructure and amenities, kept in its own reserve. It can buy land only when the land is needed for an eligible project. The Province has not said whether this use qualifies. (Province of B.C., Growing Communities Fund)

None of this $2,975,000 could have paid grants to community groups. The $2,000,000 grant had been set aside for Saahtlam Park, pickleball courts, the bus garage and a public works building.

The general-purpose money was the $1,275,000 surplus and $400,000 from the Strategic Initiatives Reserve ($1,675,000). Community amenity contributions are negotiated with developers and governed by Town policy.

The full project budget: $21,199,800

From the Town’s budget amendment adopted July 15, 2026 (Bylaw 921.01).

Eaglecrest project budget
Item	Budget	Spent by June 30, 2026
Purchase and work in 2025–26
Purchase and due diligence	$8,625,000	—
Course reconfiguration (par 35)	$2,600,000	$1,769,100
Rehabilitation: clubhouse ($600,000), equipment ($900,000), maintenance building and rainwater system ($800,000 placeholder)	$2,300,000	$1,148,600
Contingency	$1,004,800	$0
Servicing land for sale, phase 1	$800,000	$53,600
Neighbourhood work, 2027 on
Traffic solution, Highway 19A	$2,870,000	—
Park improvements	$1,000,000	—
Drainage improvements, Eaglecrest neighbourhood	$1,000,000	—
Pedestrian improvements	$1,000,000	—
Total project budget	$21,199,800

$12,574,800 of this is beyond the purchase itself. The Town expects land sales to cover it.
Not included: $2,863,000 for new water and storm mains on Eaglecrest Drive. They were in this budget until June 2026, when the Town moved them to its general asset reserves.
Spending is from the Town’s mid-2026 capital report. The Town estimates about $4.5 million spent in all of 2026.

Paying the reserves back

The Town’s 2026–2030 Financial Plan schedules $5,266,800 back into reserves, half in 2027 and half in 2028. $1,233,200 of the $6,500,000 has no repayment scheduled.

Scheduled repayments to reserves
Reserve	Scheduled repayment	Note
Asset Investment Reserve	$2,800,000	The Town says this repays the $2M grant and $700,000 of development charges.
Land (property) reserve	$1,200,000
Strategic Initiatives Reserve	$541,800
Affordable Housing Reserve	$450,000
Park Land Reserve	$275,000
Total scheduled	$5,266,800

The budget counts on $17,841,600 from land sales between 2026 and 2028 ($6,824,800 in 2026, $5,483,400 in 2027, $5,533,400 in 2028). As of September 18, 2026, the Town’s records show lots listed or pending listing, but no completed sale.

For comparison

Eaglecrest next to what was turned down or delayed

Eaglecrest project budget, 2025–2028 $21,199,800
Town projects pushed back $1,495,100
Community requests not funded $1,222,854

The 10 requests with a final decision.

Eaglecrest was also cited directly as a reason for two community requests (pickleball funding and staff time for the Community Cup co-application) and for delaying the tree protection bylaw.