City bureaucrats not to blame for Parker land delays, court finds – Winnipeg Free Press

Two Winnipeg city officials are not to blame for delays to a major housing project, their lawyers said on the first day of their appeal of a court order ordering the city to pay the developer $5 million in damages.

A July 2023 ruling by Manitoba Court of Crown Justice Shauna McCarthy found former chief planner Braden Smith and senior city planner Michael Robinson liable for “misconduct in public office” and held the city responsible for the delay.

The decision, which two city officials ruled intentionally stalled the project, comes amid long-standing allegations by Gem Equities owner Andrew Marquez about the Fulton Grove development on the former Parker lands.

“Public misconduct” refers to the willful neglect of public duties, knowing that “the misconduct may harm the plaintiffs,” the ruling states.

Robinson's lawyer said the court's decision misapplied the circumstances of the case, noting that his client had no right to make a decision on the project.

“Ultimately these issues will be decided by the city council. They are the decision makers … and not an individual in the public service making a recommendation in a report,” said Kevin Williams.

Williams also suggested that his client's concerns about the development application are legitimate issues that the state official should consider.

He claimed there was no evidence they would harm the developer.

“You may disagree with some of the concerns, but it's not like those concerns are out of left field or that they're completely unfounded,” he said.

In the appeal document, the city alleges that the judge awarded damages in the absence of adequate evidence and did not provide a proper reason for awarding the damages. The city also charged that the judge “awarded excessive and unreasonably high damages.”

McCarthy believes Smith directed city planners to slow down the development approval process and replaced one planner on the project, who refused to do so. He found Robinson had delayed the project from being reviewed by a City Council committee.

The same sentence requires Coun. John Orlikov (River Heights-Fort Harry) — who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit — has obstructed the approval process.

“The evidence, in my opinion, is clear that the motivation and impetus for this deliberate interference with the plaintiffs' requests were, first of all, the wishes and demands of the chairman of the regional council and the desire of some government officials to fulfill these wishes,” he wrote. McCarthy.

Orlikov was not available for comment Wednesday, but said he was surprised by the judge's finding and did nothing to delay the project.

Smith's attorney, Brian Meronek, said his client only replaced one employee with a more senior employee on the project as the developer complained about delays.

“On God's green earth is it possible to say that this was some kind of (effort) by Orlikov and Smith to stop or prevent this project?” – said Meronek.

He said Smith did not tell staff to slow down the application.

“It was the other way around,” Meronek said.

He said Orlikov also pushed for an open house to get feedback on the project, indicating the consultant also wants it to move forward.

Meronek noted that Smith did the right thing.

“There is no evidence that he did (anything) other than his professional duties,” he said.

Attorneys for the city and developer Gem Equities are expected to speak in court Thursday.

In the notice of appeal, the city accuses Gem Equities of contributing to the delay, including not holding public engagement sessions until 2016.

Gem began working with the city on a plan to develop the Parker lands in the fall of 2013, though the council didn't finalize the proposal until November 2020 after years of delays and legal battles. Marquez said recently Free press The plan for 2020 did not move forward due to administrative changes made after the vote.

The council's property and development committee is expected to vote Thursday on the current development application, which requires full City Council approval.

The project will add 1,918 residential units on 47 acres of land in south Winnipeg, bordered by the CN Railway Rivers line and Southwest Rapid Transit.

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Joyanna Pursaga
Reporter

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Joyanne loves to tell the stories of this city, especially when politics are involved. Joyanna became the Winnipeg Free Press' city hall reporter in early 2020.

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