Residents group takes Vancouver to court over services agreement for Squamish Nation development
A Kitsilano residents group is taking the City of Vancouver to court over an agreement made with the Squamish Nation for a major new development.
The group wants the court to quash a services agreement for the Senakw project at the south end of the Burrard Bridge, and is arguing residents weren’t given a chance to weigh in before the city gave its approval.
The development on Squamish Nation lands will feature 11 towers and thousands of rental units, with a federal loan of $1.4 billion going towards the first two phases of construction.
The Kits Point Residents Association has now filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court requesting a judicial review of the approval of the services agreement for the project, which deals with the provision of utilities, police and fire, as well as other services.
In the court document, the group said the city gave the green-light for the agreement at an in-camera meeting without the public present, and without “providing residents affected by the development…an opportunity to be heard."
“While there is no statutory requirement for the city to hold a public hearing, given the potential impact of the city’s decision on the residents of Vancouver and Kits Point…the city had not only the authority to implement an appropriate consultation process, but a duty to do so in the circumstances,” the group said in the petition.
“The city incorrectly and unreasonably believed that since the Nation was not required to consult city residents, it too was not required to consult or hear from its residents.”
CTV News requested an interview with the association on Thursday but was told no one was available. In the legal petition, the group said it has been supportive of the Nation’s intention to develop the lands, but “is concerned about its size, density, heights of towers, and the impact it will have n the neighbouring residential area, including on traffic, infrastructure, and the use of Vanier Park."
“Despite statements to the contrary, the city did have some control over what would ultimately be built on the lands and the power to hear from residents,” the group said in the court document. “The Nation requires city services and access through Vanier Park to proceed, both of which had to be negotiated with the city to build the project to the Nation’s desired size and scale.”
Current city councillor Christine Boyle, who is running for re-election with the OneCity Vancouver party, said she was disappointed to hear about the petition.
“Indigenous nations have waited far too long already for land back, and for reconciliation and a recognition of rights,” she said. “The process that council followed on this issue was proper and following precedent and legal advice.”
Matthew Norris, a member of the Lac La Ronge First Nation who is also running for council with OneCity Vancouver, pointed out the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation had just recently been observed.
“If we’re to be a city of reconciliation then we need to work together the Indigenous nations on whose lands we live,” he said. “Challenging these projects and introducing significant delays to them is not how we move forward together.”
Current councillor and TEAM Vancouver mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick says neighbourhoods need to be listened to, and added she felt too many municipal issues are being dealt with out of the public eye.
“This kind of decision should not be made behind closed doors. These are things that affect peoples lives and should be open to the public,” she said. “It is Squamish land, it’s their right to develop as they so desire, but it still is intersecting with Vancouver and it’s going to have a big effect.”
In a statement to CTV News, the city said it is reviewing the petition and will respond in due course. The Squamish Nation said it won’t be commenting until its lawyers have reviewed the legal document.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.