We are now into our third summer with ClubLink, Minto and Richcraft and their bad winds blowing across Kanata Lakes. ClubLink’s shenanigans does get tiring and reading their bumf does little positive for our spirits.
More ClubLink….just in time for summer!
We are now into our third summer with ClubLink, Minto and Richcraft and their bad winds blowing across Kanata Lakes. Given what is going on elsewhere in our world, we ought not complain. We’re not living with the deadly heat and fires of west coast Canadians nor the political disquiet south of the border and around the world. May we all find some peace and tranquility.
But ClubLink’s shenanigans does get tiring and reading their bumf does little positive for my spirit… and it is definitely not what I want to read on the dock in the summer! Nonetheless, we stay at it! Let’s start with June 17 and ClubLink and their appeal and work our way towards July 9 and the Glen Abbey announcement.
June 17 – ClubLink’s appeal of the 40PA
We last wrote on the eve of the hearing and, like many of you who wrote and called, we were hoping for a better feeling when it was over. We heard a high level of disappointment from our supporters in the performance of the City’s legal counsel. The defence of the 40PA has always been the City’s case to bring on behalf of its residents and taxpayers and their counsel’s case to argue on behalf of their client. Our eggs are in the City’s basket. We shared our disappointment with Councillor Sudds.
Let’s keep moving forward. Our legal counsel and many area lawyers who like to share their thoughts remind us that Justice Labrosse’s assessment of the relevant law and the most important aspect of the matter, the legitimacy of the 40PA as it was originally intended, should stand the tests applied by the Court of Appeal. We remain hopeful and wait with fingers crossed.
June 17 – ClubLink files its third submission to the City
To some it is amazing that eight months after the release of the last set of City technical comments in September 2020, ClubLink would file its response on the same day as the Court of Appeal hearing. We should note however, they did the same thing with their second submission in July 2020 on the last day of the 40PA hearing. As we have said before, they are nothing if not consistent.
The new documents have been added to the City of Ottawa Kanata Lakes Development site. Laurel McCreight, Development West City Planner is asking for commentary by August 5, 2021. Please mark it on your calendar. The Coalition’s experts are in the process of reviewing the documents. It is our hope that we will have our general comments to you within a few weeks which will leave you time to incorporate anything you wish in your comments to the City.
You and our community are better served if you find the time to read the ClubLink resubmission and comment. It is important to ensure that there is no doubt in the City or with other parties that the community remains 100% opposed to this development.
You know it’s gone on too long when the names start changing!
Just so you don’t get confused along the way, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has been renamed the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). It would seem a more appropriate title. And so, our hearing date with the OLT still begins on January 17, 2022 with all the same players and the same rules… just a different banner.
Glen Abbey is spared! Great for Oakville. Explanation please?
This announcement took everyone by surprise when it came out last Friday afternoon. We are still trying to get a handle on the details beyond the initial media coverage and Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Steve Clark’s tweet.
Our understanding is that City of Oakville and Halton region were unrelenting in their continued opposition to the ClubLink proposal for Glen Abbey. The Mayor of Oakville and two area MPPs were heavily engaged and putting significant pressure for legislative support where it belonged, on Minister Clark’s desk.
A six month OLT hearing on the matter was scheduled to start in August. Remember too, the OLT process encourages parties to negotiate towards resolution which is why developers are quick to go there. They rarely hear no and can almost always count on getting most of what they came for. With Oakville unwilling to negotiate on the eve of the hearing, ClubLink would need a clear victory at OLT and that may have looked like a bridge too far. Taking advantage of an opening, Minister Clark successfully convinced K. Rai Sahi and Morguard, the owners of ClubLink, to walk away from the Glen Abbey development entirely, despite having invested many tens of millions of dollars in their development proposal to date. The details are missing at this point.
The KGPC is awaiting an update from our MPP Merrilee Fullerton on the situation. A meeting we had scheduled for Friday has now been postponed until next week. We understand from Councillor Sudds that the City is also having discussions with Queen’s Park about the matter. We will work to get and keep you up to date.
First and foremost, the determinative decision on the legitimacy of the 40PA still remains in front of the Ontario Court of Appeal and we continue to wait patiently with you for that announcement.
Until then….enjoy your summer knowing that WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER!
Take good care!
Barbara
Barbara Ramsay, Chair
chair@ourkanatagreenspace.ca
Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition
ourkanatagreenspace.ca