Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Gallagher's Canyon Golf Club
June 17, 2022 - 10:34 AM
With a prediction of water bills rising to $75,000 a year, Gallagher's Canyon Golf Club is suing the City of Kelowna for increasing its water rates.
According to a Notice of Claim filed at the Kelowna courthouse, Jun. 15, GolfBC who owns the course, accuses City staff of giving councillors "inaccurate or misleading" information before they voted on the rate hikes.
The club also says it was given less than one day's notice that the rise in water rates was going to be in front of council.
The court document says the club currently pays less than half a penny per cubic metre of non-potable water but the new bylaw, which was adopted May 16, pushed the price up to one cent per metre for 2022 and $0.15 for 2023.
The court document incorrectly says the increase in 2022 is 200 per cent, and 300 per cent for 2023. The increase is actually 122 per cent and 233 per cent, respectively.
The court document says GolfBC understands the City will raise the rates to $0.22 in 2024 which will hand them a $74,800 water bill, compared to $15,300 in 2021.
City staff told councillors the club's water bill would decrease in 2022 to $13,000 from $15,600, the document says.
"However, GolfBC estimates its costs for non-potable water will actually increase to $34,000, which is nearly double what GolfBC paid for non-potable water last year," the notice of claim says.
The club also claims because it was given inadequate notice of the move it did not have a chance to "correct the inaccuracies" in the staff report to council.
"Due to the lack of notice, GolfBC and other impacted users were denied a meaningful opportunity to provide informed, thoughtful and rational comments to the City on the amendment bylaw before and during the regular meetings of council," the court document says.
GolfBC says council's move to adopt the bylaw was "unreasonable" and in breach of the requirements of procedural fairness.
The club says only three golf courses are impacted by the bylaw and it has a particularly strong impact on its course as it is the only one that doesn't have farm status.
The City of Kelowna has not yet filed a response.
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