Lansdowne process 'illegitimate': academics

The process to redevelop Lansdowne Park has been flawed and "illegitimate" and unlikely to produce a winning outcome for the city, according to four Ottawa professors.

Three professors from Carleton University and one from the University of Ottawa presented papers at Ottawa City Hall on Thursday questioning the value of public-private partnerships, where they said municipal politicians can at times act more like cheerleaders than assessors.

"When you have politicians getting so wrapped up in a given pet project...they forget that their role is to step back from any proposal or process and to examine whether it carefully covers public interest or respects public interest," said Carleton professor Robert Hilton.

Hilton and his colleagues Christopher Stoney and Robert Shepherd at Carleton's Centre of Urban Research and Education said in their paper Ottawa has failed the public by pushing through the Lansdowne deal in an "expedited" process.

"Essentially, it's illegitimate in our view," said Shepherd.

Stoney said the need for speed has left local residents and other interests on the periphery.

"At this stage, we shouldn't be talking about done deals and slam dunks," said Stoney.

"This is something that has to be decided in terms of the public interest, and not just developer interest."

LRT, Lansdowne plans in conflict

The paper also suggests the city is being short-sighted and contradictory in planning a major event site far away from its proposed light-rail transit route.

The plan for Ottawa's proposed LRT, which recently got a $600 million boost from the federal government, is to run 12.5-kilometre from Tunney's Pasture, just west of downtown, to Blair station in the east, and includes a 3.2-kilometre tunnel under downtown Ottawa.

But it doesn't call for a north-south connection to link it south to Lansdowne. This, the researchers said, violates the city's own commitment to build large public venues close to mass transit.

Pierre-Andre Hudon of the University of Ottawa's paper looked at the adoption of private and public partnerships like the city's partnership with Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group on the Lansdowne redevelopment.

His paper suggested the partnerships don't do enough to ensure the city is getting the "right cost" for the proposal and tend to undermine the ability of elected officials to make future decisions because public monies are tied up in long-term contracts.

Both papers had earlier been presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association in Montreal.

The academics said the city should halt the process and start again with broad, meaningful public consultation, but they said they know that at this stage in the process, it's unlikely to happen.

On Wednesday a number of consultants gave their approval of OSEG's plans, which include a refurbished Frank Clair Stadium, the addition of about 350,000 square feet of commercial retail space and residential space to accommodate about 250 units.

City councillors are expected to vote on both the OSEG proposal and the winning design of the adjacent urban park at the end of June.