An upcoming public inquiry will examine the City of Richmond’s move to seize the land beneath Watermania, a municipal aquatic and fitness facility, through expropriation proceedings launched after lease renewal talks collapsed. The scheduled hearings, set to begin on November 30, stem from a formal challenge filed by the private landowner following the municipality’s July registration of an expropriation notice.
The legal standoff centers on Watermania, located on Entertainment Boulevard at the south end of No. 6 Road. Municipal officials originally leased the property in 1997 under an agreement scheduled to expire in March 2027. In municipal filings, the city asserted that acquiring the site is necessary in the public interest to secure the continued delivery of essential community services and to support “responsible long-term financial and asset management.”
Lease Negotiations Break Down Over Base Rent Reductions
According to documents prepared by Owen Bird Law on behalf of the property owner, formal negotiations for a new lease began in January 2026. Representatives for the landowner claim that the municipality offered a renewal under existing terms but “for a base rent that was less than the amount the city was paying under the current lease.” When the owner rejected the lower rent, the law firm claims, municipal representatives stopped communicating with the owner about the new lease.
The inquiry request further notes that the municipality “chose not to include an option to buy the lands when it negotiated the lease” in 1995. Legal counsel for the owner argues that the city doesn’t need to expropriate the land in order to achieve its objective of “continued delivery of essential community services,” maintaining that the city could achieve its goal with a new lease.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie stated that the expropriation of Watermania falls under the category of “parks and recreation” and that the city is “confident” they have the jurisdiction to expropriate the land.
Title Claims and Financial Stakes
The contested property carries an estimated valuation of about $49.4 million and sits within the Cowichan Tribes claim area. While a ruling regarding the Cowichan Tribes affects lands owned by the city, the province and the federal government, all three levels of government are currently appealing the decision.
Documents submitted for the inquiry warn that if the appeal is unsuccessful, “then the Lands would be forfeited to the Cowichan Tribe and the City would have wasted at least $50 million, rather than making a ‘responsible long-term financial’ decision referenced in the expropriation notice.”
To oversee the upcoming proceedings, the Attorney General appointed retired B.C. Supreme Court Justice George Macintosh. The formal inquiry has been allotted five days.
