Vernon city council gets staff request to change plans for Kin Race Track Park

Photo: City of Vernon

Vernon's Kin Race Track Park might not be the athletic centre Mecca originally planned.

Due to a variety of issues with the land, the cost to install sports fields and other athletic amenities would be expensive.

City of Vernon staff want to seek city council's approval to develop a new vision and site improvement plan for Kin Race Track Park.

The “new vision” would aligns with the site's environmental constraints and financial limitations, prioritizing passive park features.

At their regular council meeting Monday, staff will file a report recommending that “council direct administration to develop a site-improvement plan for the Kin Race Track Lands.”

Staff are also asking council to authorize funding to a maximum of $100,000 from the Kin Race Track Park Reserve for the development of a Site-Improvement Plan as a passive park on the Kin Race Track, located at 3485 43rd Ave.

The report says in 2022, the Kin Race Track Park Lands had been identified as a potential site for a large-scale athletic park. Proposed amenities included artificial turf fields, ball diamonds and multi-sport courts designed to accommodate organized sports.

A referendum was also passed for the $144-million Active Living Centre, which is currently under construction at the site next to Kal Tire Place.

There are several constraints when it comes to developing the rest of the park.

The site has significant environmental and drainage challenges related to the high groundwater table and a study recommended the addition of stormwater-management ponds and other drainage infrastructure onsite, which further limits the available space for active recreation and sports fields.

“These constraints must be carefully integrated into any development plans to ensure environmental sustainability and to prevent additional downstream impacts on BX Creek,” the report says. “From a financial perspective, the environmental constraints make the development of high intensity sports fields and their associated infrastructure, such as parking lots and amenity buildings, costly.”

In 2022, Exp Services Inc. placed high-level development costs for the athletic park in the range of $50 million, excluding project risks, specific design features and inflation.

To provide context, the report says the total current value of all existing city park assets is approximately $54 million. This does not take into consideration annual operational and maintenance expenses.

At this time the Kin Race Track Park Reserve has an uncommitted amount of $4,497,138.

“In consideration of the significant site constraints, funding limitations and the opportunity for improvement to the existing sports field inventory, administration recommends that the Kin Race Track Lands be developed as a passive park featuring trails, interpretive areas, the site's environmental features, natural drainage patterns across the site and allow areas for seasonal flooding,” the report says.

“These factors will need to be carefully integrated into the development plans. This plan would be developed in conjunction with the city's Active Living Centre to ensure a cohesive and integrated approach to both projects.

"A passive park allows the city to retain the ability to reconsider the site's use should community needs change. Long-term possibilities and future opportunities may emerge for storm-water management pondi, housing options and partnerships, large-scale music and event space and potentially other active recreation opportunities.”

To read the full report, click here.