A public hearing to detail a potential new development at Armstrong’s Royal York Golf Course and planned changes to the course itself has been postponed.
Developer Patrick Place, an Armstrong Realtor, and partner John Groeneveld, announced in July they had a conditionally accepted offer to purchase the golf course from the York family, with the family retaining a portion of the property. The Yorks would also be shareholders in the proposed development that would potentially see 200 affordable and attainable houses built on the golf course site.
No sale price was disclosed.
The course would be shortened to become a nine-hole executive par-3 course with at least two holes longer than 200 yards, and a new nine-hole putting green would be added in front of the existing clubhouse.
Place had scheduled three days, Aug. 13-15, at the golf course to show the proposal as he prepared public input for his official presentation on the development to Armstrong.
A public open house was slated for Saturday, Aug. 15.
“We’ve had to cancel for two reasons,” said Place Tuesday, Aug. 4. “One is because of COVID-19. We were hoping to have some of the public meeting in the clubhouse and we don’t think we can do that at this point.
“The other reason is we are still working on all of the infrastructure for the development, and we are not prepared at this time to go to the public.”
Place did not set a date for another public hearing which must be held before his application can go before Armstrong council.
The Yorks have been trying to sell the course for several years, and thought they had an accepted offer in place in 2018 and 2019 from an umbrella group of Vernon’s Kal Tire, N&T Properties. But the tire company group pulled their offer off the table prior to the fall of 2019.
Place earlier helped develop 45 houses at the course on the site of the old driving range.
The new proposal plans to add an off-leash dog park to the site, a daycare building and new walking trails.
The course’s existing clubhouse will remain. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce York will continue to live in the existing house on the course.
The 200 houses would be phased in over 10 years (or earlier) and plans, for now, call for the existing course to remain operational through 2020.
The Armstrong Green Space Society has spoken out against any proposed sale of the existing course, and have said they would like to see the City of Armstrong purchase the property.
Society spokesperson Lindsay Tkachuk said in an interview with the Morning Star in July that the society supports the current zoning that’s been in place for 30 years, and the city’s Official Community Plan, which states the golf course property is parkland-commercial.
READ MORE: Armstrong golf course deal close to being finalized
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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