Peachland Baptist Church.
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July 25, 2025 - 3:30 PM
The Peachland Baptist Church alleges the District of Peachland has been trying to force it to sell in order to build a new firehall.
The church claims that the district is offering a below market price for its land and has been aggressively pushing for the church to sell since 2021, according to a Peachland Baptist Church press release.
The church said its land and building are worth $4 million, but the district’s offer has been a third of that assessed value.
A successful referendum in 2022 allowed the district to borrow up to $17.5 million for the mixed-use facility that includes the firehall, but in March council heard that costs have risen by 30 per cent. In order to pay for the planned fire hall and facility the district would have to use capital reserves and increase taxes for several years.
“I understand that they would like to create new offices for town bureaucrats, and our spot probably looks like a great place to build them, but it doesn’t seem right that a charitable organization which has served the community for 120 years should subsidize this plan on land we own and don't wish to leave,” pastor Lyle Wahl said in the release. “To date the town has suggested the church sell its holdings at below market value or move to a less valuable area abutting the highway.”
Peachland mayor Patrick Van Minsel responded to the church in a public statement denying that the district is trying to force the church to sell for no good reason.
“The District of Peachland has invested a great deal of time and attention to the new firehall project. The request to the Baptist Church is not being made frivolously and our need has not changed now that the church has publicly announced its opposition,” Van Minsel said in the statement.
The church said that it wasn’t consulted on the plans for the facility and doesn’t see why the district needs its land.
“We have been clear that while we don’t want to leave where we’re at, we are willing to work with them. Our church attendance has doubled since COVID, and we use the building throughout the week. We just don’t understand why they can’t build their plans to the west where they’ve already acquired land adjacent to the lot set aside for the firehall, instead of displacing us,” Wahl said.
Van Minsel said the district isn’t backing down because the church went public but the goal is to come to an agreement for the property.
“We know there are good people on both sides of this issue working to find a resolution. We will continue to work with the representative of the Peachland Baptist Church to find a resolution and we are pleased to hear they continue to be willing to come to the table,” the mayor said.
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