Developer escalates dispute with city hall over Parker lands project

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This article was published 06/01/2019 (2083 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Developer Andrew Marquess has gone to court a second time, as he escalates his dispute with city hall over his Parker lands project.

Marquess has filed a court injunction, alleging the City of Winnipeg is in contempt of court in how it handled applications for a secondary plan for the project and a related rezoning application for a proposed 1,900-unit, multi-residential Fulton Grove development.

Documents filed in court in December show Marquess wants the court to set aside the rulings from the city centre community committee at its Nov. 13 meeting that stalled the Parker lands project. Marquess wants the court to prohibit the committee from dealing with any other issues until it has properly dealt with his project.

Marquess has repeatedly said officials are flouting a court order that instructed city hall to treat the project without the need for a bylaw for the secondary plan.

His motion was adjourned for a full court hearing Feb. 15.

A civic spokesman said it would not comment on a matter that was before the courts, but officials had previously stated they believed they were complying with the original court order.

The recommendation of the community committee was on Monday’s agenda of the property and development committee, but councillors cited the contempt-of-court motion when deciding to indefinitely postpone any further consideration of the project until the court had ruled.

The Parker lands is a 133-acre site located west of Pembina Highway and south of the CN Rivers rail line. The Fulton Grove project is on 47 acres of lands Marquess owns in the northwestern portion of the site.

In mid-October, the developer filed a $30-million lawsuit against city hall and four senior officials, accusing them of a co-ordinated effort to thwart his plan to develop the Parker lands.

The statement of claim — which contains accusations that have not been proven in court — alleges the city officials engaged in “misfeasance in public office,” or an abuse of power.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca