Vancouver Aquatic Centre fate faces a tonight-or-never vote: new Park Board meets as demolition ban nears expiry

The fate of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre could turn tonight: the city's newly elected Park Board holds its inaugural meeting at 7 p.m. on November 2 at the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre, while the BC Court of Appeal injunction that halted demolition expires at noon on November 3 — just about 17 hours after the meeting.

Preservation group urges an emergency motion

The Protecting Our Vancouver Aquatic Centre Society (POVACS), which brought the court challenge, urged the new board on November 1 to pass an emergency motion under other business to pause demolition, preserve more than 60 trees, and review engineering and environmental reports it says were previously withheld from elected officials. The society argues a retrofit option would save more than C$100 million and avoid toxic petrochemicals leaching into False Creek; those are the society's claims, while the city has previously argued in court that delay would increase costs.

The injunction bought time — it did not reverse the decision

The current plan would demolish the 52-year-old West End facility, closed since late June, and rebuild it for C$175 million with a 25-metre pool plus a leisure pool, sauna, diving tank and fitness facilities, replacing the existing 50-metre pool — a change opposed by swimmers and clubs. The Court of Appeal injunction only paused demolition to give the new board a chance to decide; it did not rule the building must be preserved, and demolition can resume when it expires if the board takes no action. The new board comprises four COPE commissioners and three Greens, and the society calls tonight its one window to act.