The management firm seeks to bulldoze the existing 53-year-old golf course in the Kanata Lakes section of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and build a new community of more than 1,500 homes, promising a minimum of 25 percent greenspace. The Ontario Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s ruling banning the new subdivision, ruling that a condition that ClubLink maintain at least 40 percent of greenspace on the property that had been set in 1981 had expired. The ruling also ordered the city to pay ClubLink’s $59,000 (Can.) in legal costs. Opponents, including Ottawa’s mayor, vowed to carry the fight to Canada’s Supreme Court.
The owner of a club in the Kanata Lakes section of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada has the right to build a housing development on the land, Ontario’s top court ruled on November 26th, CTV News reported.
ClubLink won its appeal regarding the Kanata Golf and Country Club, dealing a major legal blow to the city and local residents in their efforts to preserve green space, CTV News reported.
The ruling by The Ontario Court of Appeal, which reversed a lower court ruling that would have banned the company from building a new subdivision on the site, means the golf course, which opened in 1968, could soon close against the wishes of many nearby homeowners, CTV News reported.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said in a statement he is “greatly disappointed” in the court’s decision, and said the city will be seeking leave to appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada, CTV News reported. Member of Parliament Jenna Sudds, who fought against the ClubLink plan as a city councillor, also expressed disappointment in the ruling.
“My heart hurts today for our Kanata community,” Sudds posted on her Twitter account. “I can’t put to words my disappointment in this ruling. Stay strong. We’ve come a long way and we’ll continue fighting.”
In October 2019, ClubLink formally applied to the city to bulldoze the golf course and build more homes, CTV News reported. ClubLink and its developers, Minto Communities and Richcraft Homes, promised a new community of more than 1,500 homes with a minimum 25 percent of greenspace.
At issue was the so-called ’40 percent agreement,’ a 1981 agreement signed between the then-city of Kanata and developers that said at least 40 percent of the property must be kept as green space, CTV News reported.
In February 2021, Ontario Superior Court Justice Marc Labrosse ruled the agreement “continues to be a valid and binding contract,” CTV News reported.
But the ruling by The Court of Appeal’s three-judge panel said the agreement was important, but not an ironclad protection of green space forever, CTV News reported. The agreement, the ruling said, “applies to extinguish an interest in land if the interest does not vest within 21 years.”
“The owners have operated the golf course for more than 21 years,” the ruling continued. “Neither the City’s right to a conveyance nor ClubLink’s right to a reconveyance have vested within the perpetuity period. As a result, these contingent interests in the golf course lands are now void.”
The Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition, a not-for-profit group, said in a statement it was “deeply disappointed and frustrated” by the decision, but is not giving up, CTV News reported.
“Our resolve remains steadfast to continue to defend our 175 acres of green and open space,” the statement said.
“It is truly disappointing that ClubLink Corporation and local developers Minto Communities and Richcraft Homes continue to push this destructive plan,” said Barbara Ramsay, the group’s chair. “We’ll continue to pursue all avenues to stop them.”
Local residents also expressed dismay at the decision, CTV News reported.
“There’s not a single resident that is in favor of this development,” said Ken Dick, whose home backs onto the course. “They are showing total disrespect and disregard for a community. I’m at a loss for words as to how this could happen.”
Watson, Ottawa’s mayor, suggested that he will ask Ontario’s Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark to intervene to save the course, CTV News reported. In a similar case involving the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario, Clark secured an agreement with ClubLink not to redevelop the land.
In a memo to the Ottawa city council after the latest decision was announced, city solicitor David White said, “Based on the court’s decision, the City would no longer have a right to demand reconveyance of the land if ClubLink stops operating the golf course,” CTV News reported.
“However, the Court did not invalidate any other sections of the 40% Agreement (as requested by ClubLink), or any other agreement relating to the golf course,” White added.
Currently, pending further rulings, White made these clarifications, CTV News reported.
- ClubLink still has an obligation to operate the golf course in perpetuity (section 5(1) of the 40% Percent Agreement).
- The City still has a right of first refusal if ClubLink tries to sell the golf course (section 5(3) of the 40% Percent Agreement).
- If ClubLink does sell the golf course, it must ensure that the new owner enters into an agreement to preserve the golf course in perpetuity
Friday’s ruling also requires the city to pay ClubLink’s legal costs, which amount to $59,000, CTV News reported.
The Court of Appeal’s full ruling can be read at https://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2021/2021ONCA0847.htm
CTV News’s video report on the decision can be viewed at https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/clublink-wins-kanata-golf-course-appeal-dealing-residents-legal-blow-1.5682759
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