Lansdowne fight shifts to court challenge

Members of the group opposed to the Lansdowne Park redevelopment deal say they have raised nearly half of the $100,000 they need to fund a legal challenge next year.

Friends of Lansdowne Park lawyer Steven Shrybman told a crowd of over 100 at the Mayfair Theatre on Bank Street Sunday that the challenge, launched in September,is needed to stop what he says is a raw deal for residents but a sweet one for developers.

He said the city broke its own procurement rules when it entered into partnership with Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group and said they made it worse by acting in bad faith almost every step of the way.

"What they can't do is make bad decisions and stupid decisions and do everything within their power to misrepresent and mislead and confound the people," saidShrybman.

The $300-million Lansdowne redevelopment of which the city will fund about $172 million has been controversial since OSEG came to the city with its proposal for the redevelopment of the venerable park in 2008.

Proponents of the redevelopment say the space which includes Frank Clair Stadium, the old home of the Ottawa Rough Riders, as well as heritage structures like the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Horticulture Building was underutilized and badly in need of a makeover and that council had delayed decisions on the space for too long.

The project includes a refurbished Frank Clair Stadium for a potential Canadian Football League team, but also sets aside considerable space for condominiums and retail outlets that critics say would have a negative impact on existing heritage buildings on the site, change the character of the neighbourhood and lead to greater traffic congestion in the area.

Despite vocal opposition from Friends of Lansdowne Park, Glebe residents and outgoing Capital Ward councillor Clive Doucet, council approved the plan in 2010 and earlier this month the outgoing council gave approval to the site plan, considered oneofthe last major hurdles.

Mayor-elect Jim Watson has said he would not go against the decisions of the previous council and that he would honour its commitments. Many of the councillors who opposed the deal were ousted during last month's municipal election. That leaves opponents of the deal looking to the legal challenge to stop it from proceeding.

Capital Ward councillor wants do-over

Glebe resident Doug Ward, who along with resident Gary Sealy and the Friends of Lansdowne Park group launched the legal challenge, said they are prepared for a long fight.

"This is a very bad deal for taxpayers, and we're going to stop it," said Ward.

At least one of the new faces on council is sympathetic to the group's cause. Capital Ward's new councillor David Churnushenko said the more he learns about the Lansdowne deal, the more it appears to be a bad deal for the city.

"This whole deal is so complex that the more you actually see the facts by someone who has the expertise in it the more shocking it becomes," said Churnushenko.

"I think the only reason that the general public and a number of city councillors will continue to support this is that it's so darn complicated they have no idea just how badly they're getting hosed," he said.

Churnushenko said he believes that, given the incoming council's current make-up, stopping the deal is unlikely andhe'll fight for a better result. But he said he believes it is a "terrible deal" for Ottawa.

"I would still prefer for the citizens of Ottawa to get a far better deal out of public land to go back and do it over as a competitive, open process," he said.