A residential vote on the proposed Melville wave park has been delayed due to unprecedented voter turn-out at a special electors meeting on Monday evening.
Over 600 City of Melville rate-payers attended the meeting to discuss the environmental and community impacts of the $25 million project, to the point where over one hundred residents were unable to fit inside the hall.
City of Melville chief executive officer Dr Shayne Silcox said the meeting was attended by an unprecedented number of City of Melville electors, and the huge turnout indicated the significance of the project to the local residents.
"The number of electors was well above any previous attendance levels for Special Meetings of Electors, and consequently posed difficulties in counting votes," said Dr Silcox.
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While not binding, the final outcome of the vote must be considered by Council when making a decision on the proposal.
City of Melville resident Paul Eddison attended the meeting with his wife, and said a number of residents couldn't fit inside the building in order to vote.
"It was very hard for the council officers to count the votes - it seemed to me to be an impossible task.
"I cannot vouch for the show of hands inside the conference room but outside was a clear majority in favour of the wave park," he said.
The debate was wide-ranging and heated, with both sides presenting arguments for and against the proposal.
A number of residents raised issues with those who would use the wave park, its environmental impacts and the relocation of the Melville Bowling Club.
The Swan Estuary Reserves Action Group (SERAG) recently posted signs about their opposition to the project around the Melville area, and said the unique nature of the Tompkins Park should be respected rather than developed.
"SERAG has no objection to the wave park per se- it is the location that is the problem.
"It is planned to be built in an ecologically important and highly sensitive location on a rare public open space along the Swan River Estuary."
The environmental impacts are currently being assessed by the Environmental Protection Agency, Main Roads WA and the Water Corporation.
Mr Eddison said he and his family were extremely supportive of the development, and hoped it would go ahead.
"As a rate payer I'm happy to see sustainable development of a site that is already developed, turned into something new and vibrant," he said.
The City of Melville will now put the motion to its electors by postal vote.