Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Phase 1 | Completed

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Well if the city won't ask for court costs--it looks like OSEG might.

Friends of Lansdowne May Be Stuck with OSEG's Legal Costs

Lauren Davis with Anna Drahovzal,CFRA web site
Friday, July 29, 2011

A judge has ruled that there was nothing improper in the City's deal with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group over the Lansdowne Partnership Plan, and now the consortium may seek compensation for court costs.

That would mean that the citizen group, Friends of Lansdowne, which brought forth the application to cancel the project, would be stuck with the bill.

OSEG's Roger Greenberg tells CFRA that his group is considering recouping the court costs that he estimates amount to in excess of $100,000.

"It was a lengthy application," Greenberg admits. "While it's gratifying to see that our position was completely supported by the judge, now we have to see what steps we take forward to try to recover some of the costs that we've expended, in my view, needlessly."

A judge ruled that City Council acted in good faith in approving the Lansdowne Partnership Plan.

The Friends are deciding whether or not to appeal; they have 30 days to make that decision.

Greenberg adds that OSEG is committed to having a stadium ready for the 2014 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament.

P.S.--if the LPC lauches their lawsuit--will OSEG ask for intervenor status again---and get it?

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Group Accuses City of Not Acting Reasonably on Lansdowne

Josh Pringle--CFRA web site
Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Lansdowne Park Conservancy is accusing the City of Ottawa of not acting reasonably or in good faith over Lansdowne Park.

That is one of 15 items the group says will be part of its court challenge to the Lansdowne Partnership Plan.

The group says the City of Ottawa has not accepted or rejected the Lansdowne Park Conservancy's proposal to redevelop Lansdowne Park and refused to follow its own internal dispute resolution mechanism that would have avoided litigation.

The Lansdowne Park Conservancy wants the court to quash the current Lansdowne Partnership Plan and order an open and competitive process for the redevelopment.

It says an open bid for the redevelopment will only take 60 to 90 days to complete, and would not delay the 2014 opening of a redeveloped Frank Clair Stadium.

The Lansdowne Park Conservancy also claims the City's Light Rail Transit project's proposal for an open tender to build the line shows the City must have a competition to develop Lansdowne Park.

An Ontario Superior Court justice dismissed the Friends of Lansdowne's bid to quash the project last week.

The LPC was supposed to apply to the court on July 22, then August 2, and now....?

Who beside Mr. Martin is a member of this group? None seems to want to be identified .

Which law firm is going to present the LPC case? I have never heard one mentioned .Or, Is the LPC going to represent themselves in court?

[reidjr]

The funny thing is calling for a open competition could see a still a sports complex beeing the best one and it could be a bigger stadium and arena

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by reidjr

The funny thing is calling for a open competition could see a still a sports complex beeing the best one and it could be a bigger stadium and arena

The funny thing is we've pretty much exhausted every angle to be discussed about this and we have some building to do.

I hope OSEG goes for costs. That should send a signal, hopefully once and for good, that stalling in the name of keeping Ottawa a small village will be punished.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by matty14

I'm not a law expert by any stretch but...

Judge Hackland rendered a decision saying that the city is NOT in contravention of its purchasing by-laws. And seeing as this is the basis for the Conservancy's imminent legal action, what kind of legal legs (if any) does the conservancy have to stand on? Again, not a legal expert, but based on the definition I read, this seems like a case of "res judicata". Can the courts deny the Conservancy litigation due to the fact that a ruling has already been rendered by the court in what amounts to an almost identical case?

Nonetheless, I hope the City goes after costs from these windbags. I read the entire document of the judges decision and it seems pretty airtight, going over each and every FoL point and dismissing them with legal precedents and opinion. The FoL and the vocal minority have lost. I hope they realize this and allow us to move on.

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

The funny thing is we've pretty much exhausted every angle to be discussed about this and we have some building to do.

I hope OSEG goes for costs. That should send a signal, hopefully once and for good, that stalling in the name of keeping Ottawa a small village will be punished.

We could also just give me a ten-year dictatorial mandate over Ottawa. That would be just as expensive and I could get so much done.

[citizen j]

Originally Posted by Jamaican-Phoenix

We could also just give me a ten-year dictatorial mandate over Ottawa. That would be just as expensive and I could so much done.

I second the motion.
Now, I expect you to add at least 30 stories to every proposal that comes forward. And to oversee the design process so that what gets built doesn't look so tame (polite euphemism for lame). Although the current design for the stadium is fine as it is.

[S-Man]

I'd ask for sidewalks that move (a form of transit) and pneumatic tubes. Just finished reading The Sleeper Awakes by HG Wells. Some good ideas there.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

If you guys want a general idea of what I'd do with ten years of free reign in the city, check out the following link.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=141014

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Looks like the LPC will not be pressing their lawsuit any time soon. The reason is bolded in the article below.

Child support orders could derail Lansdowne protest

By Gary Dimmock, The Ottawa CitizenAugust 4, 2011 8:02 PM


OTTAWA — The director of Lansdowne Park Conservancy, a group now threatening a fresh legal case to halt the City of Ottawa’s redevelopment plan, might have trouble filing anything in court.

John Martin, the head of the group, is not allowed to register any application with the court until he pays outstanding child support, according to orders by two different Superior Court judges that date back to 2007.

“There are two very clear orders outstanding by judges of this court that no motions are to be brought by Mr. Martin until he proves that he has paid all outstanding costs and child support orders up to date. He has not made such proof,” Justice Jennifer Mackinnon noted in 2008.

Reached by The Citizen on Thursday, Martin at first said it was a private matter. Then he acknowledged that he owed a sum he described as “in the low dollar amount and not significant.”

The court records do not reveal the amount owed.

Later Thursday, Martin said that he had contacted the court and hoped he could “resolve” the four-year-old arrears by Monday.

Martin’s group has threatened to take the City of Ottawa to court to have its redevelopment plan reviewed by a judge.

The Lansdowne Park Conservancy wants a scaled-back version for the stadium and property that would be run by a non-profit board.

“We’re not anti-development. Bring back football and promote sport and we want the city to benefit doubly. We’re not in combat with the city, we’re going to take our position as a competitor and for good results, you need to start with a good process,” Martin said.

Martin said he wants to protect the size of the farmers’ market and build an Olympic-sized pool to attract meets.

Under the terms of the city’s procurement bylaw, Martin says his group deserves a court hearing because of its “substantive objection.”

The procurement bylaw describes a dispute-resolution process that’s meant to deal with complaints from bidders for city business who think they haven’t been treated fairly. When one raises a substantive objection, the person or company is entitled to a review by the city’s chief procurement officer. Martin argues that applies in this case but he didn’t get his review.

A community group called the Friends of Lansdowne recently lost its legal fight against the city.

Friends of Lansdowne objected to the municipality’s deal with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group to redevelop Lansdowne, saying it amounted to an illegal subsidy of a private business, broke the city’s procurement bylaw and was reached in bad faith.

A judge last week rejected all of the group’s arguments.

Justice Charles Hackland found the Friends didn’t prove their case.

“The applicant’s arguments, even if correct factually or as matters of reasonable opinion, do not individually or taken together, amount to bad faith,” Hackland ruled.

With files from David Reevely

[email protected]

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

[citizen j]

^ Oh, John. I know you're lurking here even if you've been banned and can't post anything. Time is money, and instead of paying child support you've been wasting time (and ours) developing your own little fantasy kingdom. Not cool.

[Kitchissippi]

Great name for the team that would play in an LPC-run stadium: the Ottawa Deadbeats

[S-Man]

Not surprising. I'm guessing the divorce happened because he talked her ear off about a great plan he was working on. So...the money needed to build the LPC plan will be as hard to come by as his ex-wife's child support, I guess?

[migo]

Will the real (responsible citizen?) John Martin please stand up?:

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

John Martin...is not allowed to register any application with the court until he pays outstanding child support.

Thanks you for showing the real you, John

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

This article needs to be read by every citizen in Ottawa.

[harls]

As much as we don't like his ideas.. that is kinda not cool to air his dirty laundry like that..

[ThaLoveDocta]

Originally Posted by harls

As much as we don't like his ideas.. that is kinda not cool to air his dirty laundry like that..

The courts are an institution of public record.
Perhaps if lists of unpaying parents were published like the "John Lists" in Sweden and elsewhere, there'd be fewer issues...

It is nice to see this project inching ever close to putting a shovel in the ground. Would love to see those stands hit the dirt before snow fall!

[AuxTown]

“There are two very clear orders outstanding by judges of this court that no motions are to be brought by Mr. Martin until he proves that he has paid all outstanding costs and child support orders up to date. He has not made such proof,” Justice Jennifer Mackinnon noted in 2008.

I would hope that we aren't waiting for him to pay child support so that we can then wait for his complaints to be heard just so they can be rejected by the court. I think it's time to start demolition....

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

I would hope that we aren't waiting for him to pay child support so that we can then wait for his complaints to be heard just so they can be rejected by the court. I think it's time to start demolition....

Knowing this city, that's exactly what's going to happen unfortunately.

[citizen j]

Originally Posted by harls

As much as we don't like his ideas.. that is kinda not cool to air his dirty laundry like that..

Yes, you're right. But I was speaking less out of a sense of schadenfreude and more out of bewilderment.

But back to the thread topic. So far, no one seems to want to commit to a shovel-in-the-ground date. Understandable, given what has transpired and what may yet happen. Has anyone heard anything? The information on the City's website looks out of date.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

citizenj asked

So far, no one seems to want to commit to a shovel-in-the-ground date. Understandable, given what has transpired and what may yet happen. Has anyone heard anything? The information on the City's website looks out of date.

Meeting of the city planning committee to update on Lansdowne scheduled for AUG 18. It is expected that some timelines will be discussed there.

Also an article in today's Ottawa Sun. The mayor says he would like to get some things done this year--demolishing the rest of the south side was the first thing he mentioned. He mentioned that earlier this summer as well.