BURST
City of Kelowna staff want to swap land with a B.C. developer, trading a city-owned industrial lot to get half of the Kelowna Springs Golf Course.
Under the proposed deal, developer Denciti would be allowed to turn its remaining half of the golf course into an industrial park, pickleball arena and park.
The Kelowna Springs Golf Course was sold in 2022, shortly after city council approved the 2040 official community plan that flagged the site for possible industrial use.
In the lead-up to the October 2022 municipal election, current Mayor Tom Dyas campaigned to save the course from industrial development, saying he “would fight to save Kelowna Springs Golf Course from being turned into warehouses.”
The following year council voted to change the future land use for the golf course back to private recreational, while encouraging Denciti to submit a development permit application for the land. In May 2025, the developer proposed dividing the site in two, with half becoming an industrial park, pickleball arena and parkland, while the remainder would be a nine-hole golf course.
On Nov. 14 the city announced the proposed land swap, that was negotiated in private between city staff and the developer.
Under the proposal would see the city transfer 3.7 hectares of industrial land, almost four city block in size, in northeast Kelowna to Denciti in exchange for a 24-hectare portion of the 43-hectare Kelowna Springs Golf Course that the city would keep as a nine-hole course.
Denciti’s remaining 18.5 hectares would be turned into the industrial park, park and pickleball arena.
The golf course has been operating since 1990, when the site was bought for $1.2 million according to government records. It has been an 18-hole course since then, except for last year when Denciti shuttered the back nine holes.
Resident Alexandra Martin, who lives on the eastern border of the site, is leading a group of residents with concerns about the deal and its impact on flooding.
“There is a group of concerned citizens and that group has been growing lately as more people become aware of this situation,” said Martin. “Our fear is that any development in this area is going to completely alter the floodplain as well as creating more compression areas where the water will need to bubble up.”
She said there are no public records of the staff and developer meetings around the land swap nor a publicly available valuation of the city’s industrial site at 3199 Hollywood Road North.
The golf course property is assessed at $5.329 million and is owned by 480 Penno Road Ltd.
Denciti CEO Garry Fawley said the proposed plan “addresses many of the concerns that we have heard from the Kelowna community.”
“All proposed infrastructure at 480 Penno Road will be designed to industry best practices and comply fully with the City of Kelowna’s development bylaws.”
Derek Edstrom, Kelowna’s divisional director for partnerships and investments, said the proposed land swap is subject to several conditions and approvals before the exchange can take place early next year. It will require an amendment to Kelowna’s official community plan to allow for rezoning of the industrial park and is expected to generate $4 million in development cost charges.
The city is considering operating the new pickleball facility.