'Minority rights' argument expected at hearing challenging Salvation Army shelter for Vanier
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: January 10, 2020
The groups appealing a council decision allowing the Salvation Army to build a shelter complex in Vanier will urge the adjudicator to consider impacts to the francophone and Indigenous communities, a unique argument for an urban planning fight at the provincial tribunal.
What they don’t know is if the adjudicator presiding over the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) hearing, which begins Monday at Ottawa City Hall, will even consider those issues in deciding if the complex is an appropriate use for a property at 333 Montreal Rd.
“It’s different from any planning hearing that really has almost ever taken place,” said Michael Polowin, the lawyer representing multiple business people and organizations appealing a November 2017 council decision in favour of the Salvation Army’s proposal.
“We take the position that not only does (LPAT) have the jurisdiction, but the Provincial Policy Statement requires it to look at this.”
The Provincial Policy Statement compels municipalities to make sure all land-use planning decisions are consistent with directions in the statement. One of the cornerstone principles in the statement is that decisions should “enhance the quality of life” of Ontario residents.
The Salvation Army intends to relocate its operations from the aging Booth Centre in the ByWard Market to a new multipurpose facility in Vanier, replacing the Concorde Motel.
The development proposal has been one of the most controversial planning files in the city, at one time drawing regular protests by community group SOS Vanier.
Council in 2017, during the previous term, approved the necessary official plan and zoning amendments with a 16-7 vote. Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury in June 2019 asked the current council to reconsider the 2017 decision but lost in a 12-10 vote.
Now, opponents of the project hope the LPAT adjudicator reverses council’s decision, while the Salvation Army wants the adjudicator to reject the appeals so it can begin the project.
Glenn van Gulik, the Salvation Army’s area director of public relations, said there’s a “dramatic need” in Ottawa for the new facility. He pointed to the recently dismantled “tent city” of homeless people north of Bayview Station as evidence that the city needs more emergency shelter space and supportive housing.
Van Gulik said the Salvation Army wants to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible but the delay caused by the appeal has allowed the charity to keep tabs on emerging social services and housing requirements in Ottawa. The new Montreal Road facility would be “flexible” in responding to those needs, he said.
“We are looking forward to the hearing,” van Gulik said. “It’s not something we want to go through, but we look forward to emphasizing the importance of things.”
Polowin expects the project’s “impact to minority rights” will be one of three overarching arguments his legal team will make to the adjudicator during the scheduled 15-day hearing. The other two arguments will centre on the impacts to economic development and the appropriateness of the project on Vanier’s traditional main street.
Polowin said he plans to call five witnesses to provide evidence: one will be a planner, one will speak on the impact of a shelter on Montreal Road from an economic perspective, two will discuss francophone issues and one will discuss Indigenous issues.
The Salvation Army and the city, both defending council’s approval of the project, are also expected to call their own witnesses.
The city’s 2017 report on the Salvation Army’s development application summarized the reasons why the planning department supported the proposal.
“The department is recommending approval of the subject application because the proposed development is a relocation of an existing shelter, the built form has been designed in a manner to mitigate land use and physical compatibility impacts and the subject development does not preclude the ability for Montreal Road to develop in a manner that meets the intention of the traditional main street designation,” the report said.
Polowin believes there are “giant holes in the city’s planning evidence,” particularly when it comes to a shelter’s impact on a traditional main street, combined with a 2008 city study that examined the high concentration of shelters in Rideau-Vanier ward.
The city, on the other hand, has said there was nothing in city planning policies that prevents a shelter from being at 333 Montreal Rd.
An “issues list” established by the parties has 18 topics that will be on the table during the hearing.
While many topics relate to planning policies, other more weighty topics will challenge the adjudicator to consider if they are appropriate for a land-use planning tribunal. For example, the adjudicator might be asked to decide if the official plan and zoning amendments align with values in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Drew Dobson, one of the appellants and the leader of SOS Vanier, said he’s encouraging fellow opponents to attend the first and last days of the hearing. They’re “excited” to see an impartial adjudicator consider the arguments, Dobson said.
While confident in his position, Polowin knows it’s a unique planning case because there’s a respected charity behind the project.
“This is a high-profile matter with a non-developer applicant,” Polowin said. “We need to acknowledge, and we will, that the Salvation Army does good work, and as a consequence they’re not regarded in the same was as they are a private developer.”
No one knows if it will be a factor in the adjudicator’s decision.
“As I always tell people, litigation is a crapshoot,” Polowin said.
“Where this turns is going to depend on the chemistry in the room. It’s going to depend on what the (adjudicator) hearing it seems to think is important.”
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