Town of Qualicum Beach Eaglecrest FAQ

Purchase price (p. 2)

“[…] resulting in a municipal contribution of $6.5 million for the purchase of the Eaglecrest Lands to be funded from future land sales without impact to taxation.”

Misleading So far that’s a promise, not a fact. Until land sells, general surplus and reserves carry the purchase, and two Eaglecrest pipe projects were moved off land-sale funding onto Town reserves.

• The $6.5 million includes $1.275 million of general surplus, money raised from taxpayers. The FAQ says it will be repaid in 2027–28. The Financial Plan’s labelled repayments come to $5.27 million; the other $1.275 million shows up only as a rise in general surplus in 2027 and 2028.
• None of the budget’s land sales go to that rise. The $17,841,600 of land sales in the budget exactly covers the project’s spending from 2026 on ($12,574,800) and the $5,266,800 of labelled repayments. So as budgeted, the general surplus is rebuilt from the Town’s regular revenue, not land sales.
• Town’s response: On October 2, 2026, the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer wrote that the funding plan is “based on current Council decision making and could be subject to change.” Staff will propose an amendment before 2027 adding $1,233,200 of land sales “as a repayment of funds temporarily borrowed from accumulated surplus.” That is the $6.5 million less the $5,266,800 already scheduled.
• In June 2026 the $2,863,000 Eaglecrest Drive water and storm mains were moved out of the project to the Town’s asset management reserves. The Town then applied for a federal grant of $1,082,000 toward the work; none has been approved.
• In October 2025 the Town’s FAQ said land sales had the potential to recover the purchase and help pay for priority projects, including asbestos-cement pipe replacement. Eight months later, the Eaglecrest asbestos-cement main was moved off land-sale funding.
• The FAQ itself hedges: no tax impact “based on Council’s current decision making.”

Sources: Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 921.01 (adopted Jul 15, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Staff report: 2026–2030 Financial Plan Amendment, Jun 24, 2026 (Figure 1 funding strategy, p. 244; Schedule A reconciliation, p. 253) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jun 24, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Sep 9, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); FAQ: Eaglecrest Golf Course Lands (October 2025) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Town’s reply to our letter on the Eaglecrest FAQ (Oct 2, 2026) (Lou Varela, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Qualicum Beach)

Public engagement (p. 2)

“The Town engaged the community to gather feedback in advance of the potential purchase including: Small group discussions with nine community groups […]; An online survey, receiving nearly 900 responses; and, Two Community Open Houses held on September 29, 2025, with over 500 residents attending.”

Misleading The list is mostly right, though the open house was on September 9, not 29. It doesn’t mention the formal hearing, where speakers opposed the rezoning 34 to 4, and the survey offered no option to oppose the purchase.

• The survey’s first question offered “excited,” “concerned” or “unsure.” 22.5% chose “concerned.” No question or answer choice mentioned the price, where the money would come from, taxes, the risks or the projects pushed back to pay for it. The only money question asked which amenities the Town should consider in a funding plan.
• Of the 835 respondents who gave their age, 63% were 65 or older and 70 were under 45.
• The Town’s own October 2025 FAQ put the open house presentations on September 9, not September 29. It counted eleven meetings with community groups.
• At the October 6, 2025 hearing, 34 speakers opposed the rezoning and 4 supported it, by our count from the meeting video.

Sources: Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); FAQ: Eaglecrest Golf Course Lands (October 2025) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Eaglecrest Golf Course Survey Results (short answers) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Oct 22, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Public hearing minutes, Oct 6, 2025 (Eaglecrest OCP and zoning amendments) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Reserves (p. 5)

“The temporary borrowing from Reserves used to purchase the Eaglecrest Lands is not currently expected to affect planned projects over the five-year financial planning horizon. The projects whose funding was temporarily reallocated are scheduled for later years […]”

Misleading The FAQ says so itself: they are scheduled for later years because they were moved there to pay for Eaglecrest. “Not currently expected to affect planned projects” is true only against the revised plan.

• In July 2025 the Eaglecrest funding plan pushed back 33 strategic-initiative items by a year, or until the reserve is repaid, including the seniors’ centre study and the accessibility plan. The same motion pushed back the tree bylaw update.
• The Saahtlam Park playground went from 2026 to 2028. The $2 million provincial grant set aside for it, the pickleball courts, the bus garage and workplace modernization went to the purchase.
• The FAQ says the Strategic Initiatives Reserve will be repaid in 2027 and 2028. Until then, the initiatives wait.
• Town’s response: On October 2, 2026, the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer wrote that the playground “was deferred to a future year based on the state of planning for the park, and as a result those funds became available temporarily for the Eaglecrest Project.” The record shows this order: the park plan Council endorsed in July 2024 made the play area a priority for the next one to three years. On July 23, 2025, Council moved the grant set aside for Saahtlam amenities to the purchase. On October 22, 2025, the playground budget moved to 2028.

Sources: Special Council minutes, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council agenda and deferral lists, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Dec 17, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Staff report: 2025–2029 Financial Plan Amendment, Oct 22, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Saahtlam Park Detailed Plan (July 2024; play area pp. 16, 19) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Town’s reply to our letter on the Eaglecrest FAQ (Oct 2, 2026) (Lou Varela, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Qualicum Beach)

Reserves (p. 5)

“Based on the Town’s 2025 year-end Accumulated Surplus balances (Note 11 of the 2025 Financial Statements), sufficient Reserve balances exist to temporarily finance the 2026 capital expenditures until land sale proceeds are received in a later year.”

Misleading On paper, yes. But Note 11 shows the flexible reserves nearly empty, and most of what’s left sits in reserves staff say are already short.

• At the end of 2025, the Strategic Initiatives Reserve was overdrawn (−$21,200). The property reserve fell from $1,233,966 to $80,374, the Growing Communities Fund from $3,573,510 to $41,597, and the affordable housing reserve from $450,000 to zero.
• Most of what remains is the asset replacement reserve ($4.36 million) and the water infrastructure reserve ($2.80 million). Staff wrote in November 2025 that both are underfunded, and water pipe renewals have been deferred.
• Total reserves fell from $18.9 million to $11.9 million in 2025. Staff also said borrowing from the water reserve is not considered practical.
• Town’s response: On October 2, 2026, the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer wrote that Council will decide which reserves pay for the 2026 Eaglecrest spending during the 2027 budget process, and that about $4.5 million of 2026 spending may need temporary financing from reserves until land sells. The reply says “adequate reserve balances exist,” but not which.

Sources: 2025 Audited Financial Statements (Town of Qualicum Beach); Committee of the Whole agenda and scoping sheets, Nov 12, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Town’s reply to our letter on the Eaglecrest FAQ (Oct 2, 2026) (Lou Varela, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Qualicum Beach)

Land sales (p. 6)

“Will land sales fully fund the Project’s costs? Yes, based on Council’s current decision making and land valuations.”

Misleading That’s a forecast. The Town’s own budget bylaw schedules $1.23 million less in land sales than the project needs, and the FAQ reports no completed sale.

• The budget bylaw counts on $17,841,600 in land sales for 2026–2028. With the $2,125,000 donation that is $19,966,600, short of the $21,199,800 budget. Staff’s June 2026 presentation put land sales at $19,074,800.
• It counts on $6,824,800 of that in 2026. By mid-September, the FAQ lists 8 lots and one parcel as listed or pending, and no completed sale.
• The FAQ admits “markets have changed since the time of testing.” The Town hasn’t published the feasibility study it relies on. A copy released under freedom of information has its financial figures blacked out.
• Town’s response: On October 2, 2026, the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer confirmed the gap. Staff will propose a Financial Plan amendment before 2027 that adds the $1,233,200, as repayment of the general surplus. The reply doesn’t say which sales it will come from, or when.

Sources: Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 921.01 (adopted Jul 15, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Eaglecrest due diligence records, incl. the MODUS memo of Sep 25, 2025 (partly released under FOI-2026-33; published by Town Hall Math) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Town’s reply to our letter on the Eaglecrest FAQ (Oct 2, 2026) (Lou Varela, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Qualicum Beach)

Tax receipt (p. 4)

“The Town issued a tax receipt to the seller for the ‘gifted value’ of $4.48 million at no cost to the Town.”

Misleading True, it cost the Town nothing directly. But the “gifted value” came from the Town’s own rezoning, on top of a price 2.5 times the land’s 2024 appraisal, and other taxpayers bear the tax credit.

• The Town’s October 2025 FAQ says the land was appraised at $3.41 million in 2024. The Town agreed to pay $8.5 million, which it said reflected the land’s “rezoning potential.”
• The Town then rezoned the land. Only after that was it appraised at $12.98 million, by an appraiser the seller hired, and the seller got a receipt for the $4.48 million difference.
• The receipt lowers the seller’s income tax. That cost falls on federal and provincial taxpayers rather than the Town.

Sources: Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); FAQ: Eaglecrest Golf Course Lands (October 2025) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Wong & Liu appraisal for Semiahmoo Golf Centre Ltd., Jan 7, 2026 (released under FOI-2026-37; published by Town Hall Math) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Project description (p. 1)

“Nearly 40% of the property (approximately 40 acres) will be preserved in perpetuity as parkland.”

Accurate The donation agreement requires it, with a conservation covenant.

• The Town hasn’t said how much of that land was already barred from development by an older covenant.

Sources: Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); FAQ: Eaglecrest Golf Course Lands (October 2025) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Budget (pp. 8–9)

“Total Project Budget Approved by Council on July 15, 2026 […] $21,199,800”

Accurate It matches Bylaw 921.01, adopted July 15, 2026.

Sources: Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 921.01 (adopted Jul 15, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jul 15, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Due diligence (p. 3)

“Review of potential servicing constraints that could affect conceptual design of land development (none were identified).”

Not verified The servicing review hasn’t been published, so we couldn’t check it. The problems found since were on the golf course, not in servicing the lots.

• Page 6 lists “addressing extensive, unknown irrigation and drainage deficiencies in the golf course” among costs added since the decision to buy. The FAQ also notes that the clubhouse inspection didn’t cover its underground storm drainage.
• None of the due diligence reports has been published.

Sources: Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Sep 9, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Risks (p. 2)

“When first considering the purchase of the Eaglecrest Lands, Council was advised that unforeseen costs and project adjustments were likely […]”

Not verified That advice was given in closed meetings, which aren’t public.

• At the July 23, 2025 meeting that funded the purchase, staff said the costs of upgrades beyond the purchase price were still being assessed and would be “an evolving conversation.” The staff report itself mentioned no contingency or cost risk.
• None of the survey’s questions or answer choices mentioned costs or risks.

Sources: Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council agenda and deferral lists, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Qualicum Beach allocates funds for $8.5M purchase of Eaglecrest Golf Course (Jul 24, 2025) (Parksville Qualicum Beach News)