Stew Young’s
Record as Mayor
Recreation · 2014–2020

Private developers benefiting from city deals

Young’s council sold the North Langford recreation centre to Bear Mountain Adventures for $3.575 million, against a $4 million appraisal. The $425,000 discount was tied to promised improvements. The City surrendered ownership of a facility it had bought to protect public access, replacing it with a recreation-use restriction that expires after 25 years.

Updated September 30, 2026

Young’s council sold public control with a 25-year expiry on recreation use. The City gave up ownership of a centre it had bought to protect public access. Residents were left relying on a private owner and a recreation-use restriction that expires after 25 years. See the records

Why Langford bought it

The Discourse's September 2020 reporting2 puts the City's 2014 acquisition at approximately $2.209 million, with a further $652,218 spent on maintenance and capital work. Young said the purchase was intended to ensure the amenity remained available to the public.

Langford acquired an existing facility at Bear Mountain. It did not build the original centre. The ownership question is still straightforward: the City bought a community asset, then chose to sell it.

The sale and its conditions

The September 8, 2020 staff report and attached agreement1 identify the buyer as Bear Mountain Adventures. The base price was $3.575 million against a $4 million appraisal. The deal tied that discount to improvements, including a new pool of at least 210 square metres and seating, due within 24 months, and broader facility work within 55 months. Failure to deliver the specified improvements could increase the price to $4 million.

The September 8, 2020 signed minutes3 record council approving the disposition under the executed purchase-and-sale agreement.

The agreement required recreation use for 25 years, at least 80 operating hours a week, drop-in access, and a 10% drop-in discount for Langford residents. It also provided conditional City repurchase rights for specified defaults. The contract provides protections, but the recreation-use restriction ends after 25 years.

Ownership gave the City control without an expiry date. The replacement recreation-use condition lasts 25 years.

The verdict on the decision

Young’s council gave up lasting ownership of an asset it had bought to protect public access. It left residents relying on a private owner’s performance and a recreation-use restriction that expires. The sale weakened the long-term public control the original purchase was meant to secure.

Questions still open

  • Were the pool and facility improvements delivered by their contractual deadlines?
  • Did the City collect any additional purchase price or enforce other remedies?
  • How is compliance with public-access conditions monitored, and what protects recreation use after the 25-year restriction ends?

Sources

  1. City of Langford, September 8, 2020 council agenda packageStaff report on pages 17–19 and attached sale agreement: buyer, appraisal, price, improvement deadlines, public access, and repurchase conditions.
  2. The Discourse, “Langford sells recreation centre,” September 22, 2020Contemporary reporting on acquisition costs, City spending, and Young's explanation of the purchase and sale.
  3. September 8, 2020 signed council minutesItem 6(a): approval of the disposition under the executed purchase-and-sale agreement.