Ontario's top court scraps legacy agreement protecting Kanata golf course from bulldozers
Author of the article:Jon Willing
The Ontario Court of Appeal has struck down a legacy agreement that has protected the Kanata Golf and Country Club from bulldozers, giving owner ClubLink a win in its quest to build 1,000 new homes on the golf course land.
Mayor Jim Watson announced that the city will ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the decision released on Friday. He’s also asking the Ontario Progressive Conservative government to protect the golf course months before a provincial election.
WHY ARE PEOPLE UPSET
The so-called 40 per cent agreement struck by the old city of Kanata and the landowner at the time, Campeau Corp., in 1981 laid out a commitment to include the golf course lands in protecting natural space during development. The deal allowed the city to take over the land for recreational activities if the owner no longer wants to run a golf course.
The City of Ottawa assumes any agreements made by pre-amalgamation municipalities.
The old agreement hasn’t stopped ClubLink from pursuing a complete transformation of the golf course lands.
The company has partnered with Minto Communities and Richcraft Homes on a plan to turn the golf course at 7000 Campeau Dr. into an infill subdivision. The latest filing for its development application at city hall indicates ClubLink wants to build 1,480 new homes, which is a reduction from a previously planned 1,544 homes.
Of the 70.89 hectares of development area, 33.16 hectares of land would be cut up for new homes, 23.14 hectares would be open space (including parks and stormwater ponds) and 14.59 hectares would be needed for the infill community’s roads.
Of the 1,480 new units, 654 of them would be detached homes and 437 would be in buildings between four and six storeys in height. The remainder of the units would be in different configurations of townhouses.
The court battle has centred on the interpretation of the agreement and whether it was legally in force today. The city won a decision by the lower court earlier this year that upheld the 40 per cent agreement. ClubLink appealed.
“The owners have operated the golf course for more than 21 years. 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,” Justice Lois Roberts wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel.
In a statement, Watson said he’s “greatly disappointed” by the court decision.
“I am heartened to hear that, in light of the importance of this issue to the City, the City Solicitor has advised that he will be seeking leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada,” Watson said.
Watson hopes Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark can step in, since Clark negotiated with ClubLink to pull a redevelopment plan for the renowned Glen Abbey Golf Club in southern Ontario.
Curry said the appeal court decision could set a precedent for other legacy agreements held by city hall and other municipal governments in the province.
“Certainly Kanata doesn’t want to be seen as all alone in this,” Curry said. “This is a much bigger issue.”
The legal fight over the future of the golf course has a second, separate component related to the proposed development.
The Ontario Land Tribunal is scheduled in January 2022 to hear ClubLink’s land-use planning argument for the project after city council, along with planning staff, rejected the rezoning application in 2020.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling