Kingsway Entertainment District proceedings conclude in Superior Court

Proceedings have concluded in Superior Court fora case involving Sudbury's controversialKingsway Entertainment District (KED).

After two days of arguments, the court has heard from both sides and will now decide if the bylaws to permit the development should stand.

The development, which includes a casino, a hotel and a new arena on the outskirts of the city, was intended to be completed this year, buthas been held up with legal challenges.

Complaints are scheduled to go before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) in September, but the case in the Superior Court is not about the development itself but rather the legality of how council approved it. The case against the city was filed by businessman Tom Fortin.

On Monday, Fortin's lawyer, Gordon Petch,laid out his arguments, saying the city acted in bad faith. On Tuesday, counsel for the city, and council forGateway Casinos an intervenor in the case presented their arguments.

'Not a shred of evidence'

Petch had argued the city acted in a "pattern of bad faith" in the process to approve the KED. He said when council voted in June 2017 to approve the location for the arena, it also made up its mind about the location for a casino. He said subsequent public meetings in 2018 were a "sham," since council had already made up its mind.

Lawyer Tom Halinski, representing the city, refuted the notion that council's mind was fully made up on the issue of the casino. He said ultimately, choosing the specific location for the casino was not within council's power. He also pointed to transcripts from the June 27, 2017 council meeting, which he said indicate a "breadth of debate."

"There's just not a shred of evidence that they approached it improperly," Halinski said.

Halinskihighlighted large capital projects approved for the downtown, in response to Petch's argument that the city failed to properly consider the effects of the project as a whole on the downtown.

Halinski said the ongoing downtown master plan along with the capital projects such as the Place des Arts and the new art gallery "all speak to council's continued commitment to downtown."

He also refuted allegations of a smear campaign against Fortin as well as the downtown BIA. Halinski conceded that Coun. Robert Kirwan was found to have contravened the city's code of conduct. But, Halinski said, the integrity commissioner's report did not support the argument that Kirwan had been speaking on behalf of council.

"Those were his individual statements," Halinski said.

Decision expected before LPAT date

Lawyer Richard Swan spoke for Gateway Casinos, anintervenor in the case. Swan argued, in part, that the applicant was bringing up issues from 2017 that are not directly relevant referring to it as an "everything but the kitchen sink approach."

"The only question before the court is whether the four bylaws," passed in April 2018 to rezoning and amendments to the official plan,"should be quashed for illegality," Swan said.

If the courtrules against the city, those bylaws which allow for the development to happen would be revoked,

A decision from the Superior Court is expected before the LPATproceedings begin, which is set for Sept. 17 and 18.