Casino work to begin after final site plan approval
The site plan for a new casino and hotel in Peterborough got preliminary approval from city councillors on Tuesday night, just hours after a citizen announced he is taking the city to court over the rezoning of the property.
Roy Brady has applied for a court order quashing the city’s rezoning of the property on Crawford Dr. at The Parkway.
His court application contends that the rezoning should be void because the site selection was discussed in a closed-door meeting in November, 2015.
Following a complaint from the public, an investigator deemed that councillors discussed a site selection for the casino, at that meeting, in contravention of the Municipal Act.
But those court filings weren’t mentioned during a planning meeting at City Hall on Tuesday. Councillors asked a few questions of staff about the site plan application, and then approved the plan without debate.
It’s not a done deal yet, though: council has to ratify the decision at a meeting June 5, at which time citizens will have a chance to weigh in.
Chuck Keeling, a spokesman for casino operator Great Canadian Gaming Corp., was at the meeting Tuesday. He said that if council gives its final approval on June 5, construction can begin very shortly thereafter.
“We don’t want to waste time,” Keeling said, adding that the new casino could open sometime in mid-2018.
Meanwhile, Brady is seeking a court injunction that would prevent any further action on the casino plans (given that those plans followed decision made during an “illegal meeting ”, the court filings state).
It will be up to the city to decide whether to stall construction, in the face of an impending court hearing. Although the documents were filed May 15, it’s unclear when divisional court in Oshawa might hear the case; the city hadn’t yet responded to the court application, as of Tuesday.
Brady wasn’t available for comment on Tuesday.
Brian Buchardt, the city’s urban design planner, gave a presentation to councillors about the plan.
He said the Hampton Inn next door, which was described as a seven-storey building in the staff report, will actually be a six-storey hotel.
He also explained that a new group of naturalists and biologists called the Casino Watershed Task Force reviewed the casino plans and provided feedback to city staff.
Several recommendations came from consultation with the task force, such as a plan to ask the developer to study whether stormwater runoff warms up the nearby coldwater creeks (which are potential habitat for brook trout).
The developer will also be asked to dim the lights in the parking lot – or turn off the lights altogether – when the parking lot isn’t in use.
Coun. Diane Therrien asked about a recommendation to allow the developer to start reconfiguring public streets, at its own expense, with the expectation that the city will later reimburse the $8-million cost.
Therrien said it seemed like a lot of money to pre-commit and she wondered whether the city commonly does such a thing.
Buchardt replied that this is a common practice that allows a developer to get started on roadwork sooner than later.