A potential battle is brewing between Sudbury's downtown business improvement association and city council over the group's plans to use $20,000 to fight the Kingsway Entertainment District.*
At its February meeting, the BIA approved a $534,000 budget, representing an increase of 2.5 per cent, an amount that includes $20,000 to help fund its fight to stop the arena from moving to The Kingsway, alongside a new casino.
The BIA is joining with casino opponents to oppose the planning approvals needed to make the KED conform to zoning rules.
A report headed to the city's finance department next week recommends approving the budget, minus the $20,000 set aside to fight city council's decision. Councillors have the right to approve only sections of the proposed budget, the report said, although they can't add new expenditures.
“It is recommended that the City of Greater Sudbury approve all of the proposed 2018 budget, (except) for the part which includes the $20,000 allocation to fund an appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal,” the report says.
The situation is similar to one that took place in Peterborough in 2016. In that city, however, the Peterborough BIA was fighting to convince council to build a new casino downtown, rather in the south end of Peterborough, in part because it would bring jobs and new residents to that city's core.
The BIA commissioned a report by urbanMetrics Inc. – a group also hired by Sudbury opponents of a casino – to support its case. They compiled a 57-page report that formed the basis of a 2016 appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, arguing the city was violating its own Official Plan by not prioritizing investment downtown.
Peterborough councillors informally offered to build the new arena downtown if the BIA would drop its legal fight, but the group refused.
The BIA only dropped its case in exchange for a settlement from the City of Peterborough: $150,000 in annual payments for 20 years. After the agreement was reached, Peterborough city councillor Lesley Parnell said the BIA blackmailed council by launching the appeal, which could have delayed the casino for years.
“Basically, we were extorted out of some money,” Parnell told the Peterborough Examiner. “That crosses the line. That's the bottom line, for me.”
In the wake of the settlement, councillors passed a bylaw imposing much tighter restrictions on the two BIAs in the city to help avoid future lawsuits.
The Sudbury BIA budget goes to the finance committee May 15.
Statement from BIA chair Jeff MacIntyre:
To be clear, the BIA does not operate on funding from the taxpayer and is fully funded by its own members. This includes the $20,000 that is being spent to join a much larger group of businesses and private citizens from across the community, in opposing the Kingsway Entertainment District.
While the city collects the levy on behalf of the BIA, it is done solely from BIA members and not from the general tax base, and is above and beyond the standard levy. The motion to approve these funds was approved unanimously at our AGM with an open vote of our members.
From the beginning, this has been an issue of bad urban planning, that while it affects the downtown, is bad for our overall community. We are happy to join the much larger group of businesses from across the greater city who recognize this project as harmful to our greater city economy.
It should be clear, that this challenge will go forward regardless of the BIA's commitment as it just a piece of a much larger group of funding. For city staff to make a recommendation of how the BIA spends its dollars despite having received a vote of support from its general membership, is the equivalent of city staff recommending against a something Sudbury's citizens voted for in a referendum.
The directors of the BIA are elected by the members of the BIA, their budget comes from the members of the BIA, our relationship with the city is very similar to the relationship the city has with the Province. There will be times where disagreement occurs, and when those times arise there are processes in place to deal with them. We are using our right as an organization to challenge the city's position using those processes.
*An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the funding comes from taxpayers. The BIA is funded by a levy on its membership. Sudbury.com apologizes for the error.
