By Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan
In light of the intensified email, social media and mainstream media campaign by opponents of the casino and the arena, I felt it was necessary to speak out about my concern with the nature of the implications that are being made about our city staff.
It is clear that the Downtown BIA and the anti-casino group intend to file an appeal against the anticipated approval by city council of the proposals made by Dario Zulich and Perry Dellelce to rezone their property on The Kingsway to accommodate the development of the Kingsway Entertainment District.
The integrated design will result in a facility that will include a Gateway Casino, the largest hotel in Sudbury, and the new arena/event centre owned by the City of Greater Sudbury. All that is left to complete the conditional purchase and sale of the properties is the approval of the Official Plan amendment and the rezoning of the respective portions of land to allow for the casino and the municipal arena.
The applications have been evaluated and deemed by our city planners to be consistent with relevant legislative requirements and are being recommended by the Planning Committee for approval by city council on April 10, 2018. It is expected that city council will approve the recommendations from the Planning Committee based on the professional opinions expressed by our planners in their reports.
All of this sounds like a very positive approach by city council that will transform the City of Greater Sudbury and stimulate significant growth and development. However, right from the moment council put in motion the process that has brought us to the point where, on April 10, 2018, we can be in a position to look forward to construction on the Kingsway Entertainment District this fall, there has been a strong and powerful lobby by the Downtown BIA to stop the development and pressure city councillors into rescinding the decision and instead build the new arena/event centre downtown.
They have even strategically aligned themselves with the anti-casino group, led by Tom Fortin, in an attempt to stop Gateway Casino from building an expanded gaming facility on the property. They have constantly threatened to file an appeal of the council decision on the rezoning, as is their right under the Municipal Act.
As the elected councillor for Ward 5, I expected that no matter what decisions were made at council, there were always going to be people who opposed me for whatever reason. I even expected that I would be subject to all forms of personal abuse and criticism along the way, and that there is nothing I can do about it, but take what people decide to dish out. That is the price for being in public office.
That being said, I am profoundly appalled at the level of malicious harassment that our senior management has been subjected to during these past months by some of the supporters of the Downtown BIA and the anti-casino groups.
Our senior management team, who are responsible for The Kingsway project, are the most competent people I have met and are doing a remarkable job of moving this development forward. I am also astonished with the abusive and spiteful attack on the professional integrity of our city planners, all of whom are distinguished members of the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute.
The staff who have been assigned to work on the biggest project that this city has ever undertaken do not deserve the accusations and implications that have been made that are obviously an attempt to erode public confidence in the professionals who have dedicated their careers as public servants and who are proud of their personal commitment to this city.
The political activists and lobbyists have finally come across a city council that is not going to cave in to their demands. The Downtown BIA and the people supporting the anti-casino group may have been accustomed to getting their own way when they exerted pressure on councillors. But since they can’t force the councillors to back down this time, some of them have resorted to the most reprehensible attacks on the integrity of our staff that I have ever witnessed.
There is no need for this sort of behaviour. There is no need for accusing any of our staff of being biased, ignoring the legislation or deliberately trying to cause damage to the local economy and moral fabric of our citizens. These staff members are citizens of this city and they do not deserve to be treated like this. They would never do anything that would intentionally place the wellness of our residents in jeopardy. So some of the things they are being accused of are preposterous.
No one is denying the right of the Downtown BIA and the anti-casino group to file an appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The problem is that the LPAT is not authorized to replace a decision by council. The opponents ought to know that they do not have the kind of substantial, objective, compelling evidence to support their appeal.
It seems as if their only hope is to show that the planning staff have made some premeditated misrepresentations and that the applications by Zulich/Dellelce are not consistent with the relevant legislation. In other words, some of them know that they have no chance of stopping the development unless they can spread oppressive, misleading statements with the intent of maligning the competence and conduct of the professionals who have been involved in this project.
This whole situation has gone off the rails and will leave the City of Greater Sudbury with long lasting collateral damage.
I will not stand by and watch our staff members be harassed in this manner. I trust their professional judgment and will defend their recommendations as well as their reputations. I was elected to represent the best interests of the residents of Ward 5 and I guarantee that I will be unwavering in my resolve to do what I feel will make this city greater again.
