Judge halts any construction on housing project across from curling club until he rules on city’s approval

A judge has ordered that preliminary construction activities at a hotly contested housing development next door to the Granite Curling Club be “paused” until after he delivers a court ruling that could decide its future.

At a hearing last June, lawyers for the curling club urged King’s Bench Justice Ami Kotler to quash a city bylaw approving the project, set to be built on a parking lot owned by the city but used for decades by the curling club, arguing the decision was rushed and significantly flawed.

Kotler has not yet delivered his decision.

On Friday, curling club lawyer James Mercury told court project developer Granite Project Holding Inc. had secured permits to begin “early works” including excavating and shoring of the site and the installation of piles, starting as early as Monday.

“This is not light landscaping,” Mercury told Kotler. “They are excavating the site and building the foundation.”

Kotler agreed to a motion by the curling club to issue an injunction pausing active construction activities at the site until after he delivers his ruling on the bylaw.

Kotler said his ruling did not apply to any “behind the scenes” work associated with the project.

“The thrust of the order is that everything can go ahead except the digging up of the lot,” he said. “I am trying to maintain the status quo until I decide the underlying (issue).”

Club board vice-president and secretary Christian Pierce said he was pleased with the decision, delivered shortly after 5 p.m. following a full day of submissions.

“The court has ruled that the city has to respect the judicial process,” Pierce said.

“We asked that the city wait until the decision to the original proceeding, but they refused to do so,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that the Granite was forced by the city to come to court to request this in the first place.”

The curling club argues no alternative plan for parking has been put in place should the 11-storey, 111-unit residential project go ahead, putting the club’s future in danger.

Kotler said the club’s motion met all the criteria for issuing a injunction, including a finding it would suffer irreparable harm should construction proceed.

Lawyers for the city and developer said the longer the project is delayed the more it will cost and the less viable it will become.

“If they don’t get moving, at some point it will come to an end,” said lawyer Lynda Troup, representing Granite Project Holding.

Troup argued there was no reason not to let construction at the site proceed, saying the developer has agreed it would return the parking lot to its original state should Kotler’s impending ruling not be in their favour.

“This is an absolutely win-win from every perspective,” Troup said. “There is a fail-safe that everything gets put back together.”

Kotler said because the curling club does not own the parking lot there is no guarantee it would be able to enforce the agreement.

dean.pritchard@winnipegfreepress.com