The twists and turns that led to a public hearing on the Kelowna Springs Golf Course development

Today’s the day Kelowna city council is holding a public hearing to herald the end of a years-long saga over a golf course development, and the tale of how we got here is a real quagmire.

Kelowna Springs Golf Course is set for a rezoning to make half the course industrial land and leaving a nine-hole golf course, but the movement to stop the development has gained momentum and those against will have their moment at the public hearing scheduled for this afternoon, March 10, at city hall.

How did it get to this point?

In late 2021, the City of Kelowna adopted a new Official Community Plan which identified the Kelowna Springs Golf Course as a future industrial site. The owner of the golf course had gone to the city with some concerns about its future, and there was a 2018 staff report on a lack of industrial land in the city, so council decided to designate it as industrial land.

In August 2022, councillors noticed the gravity of the change they had approved in the Official Community Plan amid outrage from the public and an election campaign promise to save the course from mayor Tom Dyas.

The Kelowna Springs development became an election issue as city council began debating whether to undo the decision to make the land industrial and return it to private recreation.

Around the same time, August 2022, Denciti Development Corp. started the process to buy the golf course. The deal was finalized in the fall with a plan to turn the course into an industrial park.

After the election, the outrage from those who wanted to keep the 18-hole golf course continued and city council decided to return nine of the 18 holes to private recreation putting a stop to Denciti’s dream of developing all of the land.

Golfers, environmentalists and neighbours who opposed the development rejoiced. Denciti still owned the course, and it went about normal operations.

After the original plan was quashed, Denciti drafted a new plan.

In April 2025, Denciti released its new vision.

The new plan kept the nine-hole golf course on the property and turned the rest of the land into a mix of industrial, open space and other recreation. The plan includes 35 acres of industrial park, a 12-court climate controlled pickleball dome, 10 acres of open space, as well as keeping the existing nine-hole Kelowna Springs Golf course.

Many of the same opponents to the original plan to develop the course were just as opposed to the new plan.

In November 2025, the city made a land swap deal with Denciti.

Denciti would give the city the remaining nine-hole course, and the city would give Denciti 9.1 acres of industrial land at 3199 Hollywood Road North provided the golf course development goes through.

There have been numerous arguments from the opposition to the development over the years. Some people want to preserve the golf course for its recreation value, some want to preserve it for its function as a wetland, some just don’t want to see more of Kelowna become industrialized.

Another point of contention is the need for industrial land.

In 2021, when the city was adopting its new Official Community Plan, there was an industrial vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent, indicating a shortage of industrial land. But a 2024 report showed Kelowna’s industrial vacancy rate spiked to 5.6 per cent.

The city set for its last public discussion before deciding whether to change the zoning to industrial and give Denciti the green light to start the process for development.

The public hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. today, March 10, at city hall.