Vancouver Park Board votes to hike service fees by average of 6% in 2024

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation unanimously passed a motion Tuesday that will hike the price of its programs and services by an average of six per cent next year.

Board staff said in the motion that the fee increases aimed to balance affordability with the reality that the park board needed to offset rising operating costs. The motion noted that a 2023 public engagement survey, found a majority of respondents were willing to pay more for services.

The highest average fee increase will be for parking, which will rise 13 per cent. However, individual services are seeing higher hikes — with the hourly price of renting a baseball diamond for little leaguers set to more than double, costing $5 an hour compared to the previous rates of $2.36 to $2.40 per hour.

Youth sports groups have decried the imminent rise in baseball diamond rental fees, saying the spiraling cost of living is hitting families hard.

"We are looking at about a $7,000 increase," said South Vancouver Little League vice-president Cameron Phillips, who added that the league will likely absorb the extra cost rather than pass it along to families who have bills to pay.

"As often is the case when fees are increased, we're wondering what the fees are encompassing, what they're going to accomplish."

In the motion, park board staff contended that the recommended fee hike would result in higher field utilization by encouraging those who do not use fields, despite paying fees, to concede the space to those who need it.

Phillips, however, said that notion was flawed. The original introduction of baseball diamond rental fees in the mid-2010s aimed to achieve a similar effect, he said, with mixed results.

"If your concern is people squatting on permits, I think there are easier ways to get around this," he said, suggesting the park board could instead set up a public email address so people can report when fields aren't being used.

Park Board Commissioner Tom Digby unsuccessfully tried to pass an amendment that would have limited the fee increase for baseball diamond rentals to 34 per cent.

"The baseball diamond rentals for minors is a very small portion of our budget, so the 34 per cent would go probably into unnoticeable category of difference," Digby argued.

His amendment failed, while the overall motion to raise fees passed unanimously.

Phillips says little leagues in Vancouver have been "desperate" for more field space, and the park board should prioritize creating more fields in an upcoming strategic plan.

"To start paying for these things upfront, when they haven't even put solutions in front of us ... seems a bit strange to me," he said.

In addition to the fee hike for baseball diamonds, playing golf will be seven per cent more expensive at city-run golf courses on average, and the renovated Stanley Park train will cost $8.25 for an adult admission — a six per cent increase.