High Court quashes Bulkan’s approval of parking meter by-laws
-NBS wins its case
The decision by Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, who earlier this year approved the ByLaws for metered parking in the city, was yesterday declared null and void by the High Court.
In his ruling, Justice Nareshwar Harnanan noted the Minister’s failure in following the procedure mandated by the Municipal and District Councils Act, for bringing the By-Laws into force.
In the circumstances, the judge made absolute, an order previously issued to Bulkan, directing him to show cause why his decision to approve the Parking Meter By-Laws, should not be quashed.
The order was made absolute, after the court found that the approval or decision to approve was of no legal effect and was made unlawfully and in breach of statute.
The judge thereafter awarded cost in the sum of $150,000 which has to be paid by the state, to the New Building Society (NBS), which had filed the action.
The NBS had contested the legality of the ByLaws, arguing in part, that the procedure for their approval, as stipulated in the Act, had not been followed.
The NBS had argued also, that by failing to gazette its intention to apply for Bulkan’s permission, City Hall, the second named respondent to the action, acted outside the law.
While the court did not take particular issue with the notice of intention not being gazetted, it noted that newspaper publications on it, were not sufficient notice as prescribed by the Act.
The Act mandates, that the notice of intention to apply for approval of the support of the motion, Kishun said that prior to the by-laws, parking was available to employees and customers and the physical facility for it was made available at the sole expense of NBS.
After approval of the By-Laws by the Minister on January 3rd, 2017, the NBS, in early February, sought the order or rule nisi directing Bulkan to show cause why a writ of certiorari should not be issued to quash his decision.
The order was granted by Justice Brassington Reynolds, before whom the case was, at the time.
That period was, however, extended and the bylaws remain suspended.
NBS was represented by attorney Pauline Chase. Minister Bulkan and City Hall meanwhile, were represented by attorneys Judy Stuart-Adonis and Roger Yearwood, respectively.
Representing Smart City Solutions (SCS), contractor for the parking meter project, was attorney Stephen Fraser.
Though not named in the action, SCS, an interested party, was allowed by Justice Harnanan to make submissions in the case.
Owing to widespread public outcry and a series of weekly protest actions by members of the public, Bulkan on March 21, 2017 ordered the City to suspend the by-laws for 90 days, which ended in July.
The latest report from the City Council’s Parking Meter Renegotiation Committee, has recommended that parking fees be set at an upper limit of $25 per 15-minute interval and $100 per hour, inclusive of VAT.
“The initial metered parking fee for the integral parking zone shall be established as up to $25 per 15 minute interval (VAT inclusive) and $100 per hour (VAT inclusive),” the report, which was brought before the Mayor and City Council on Monday at its statutory meeting, said.
It added that the guidelines for booting should be set out in the by-laws.
The last parking tariff was set at $50 for every 15 minutes, after being reduced from $125 for the same amount of time. Gun-toting bandits yesterday carted off approximately $200,000 in cash from the Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara Post Office after holding the postmistress at gunpoint.
According to the police, postmistress Grace Gibson was alone at the post office around 2.05 pm and got up to attend to the men. While at the counter, she noticed one of the bandits had a gun pointing towards her as he demanded she open the inner door which is secured with a bolt and padlock. It was then that a second bandit, also armed with a gun, entered and waited for her to open the door. The bandits, she told police, were dressed in camouflage clothing.
Fearful for her life, Gibson told the police she opened the inner door to the office allowing the men to enter. The bandits,
Among other things, it was also suggested by the committee, that residential parking rates be lowered, although it was not stated by how much.
Furthermore, the committee recommended that clients pay for their time and not the space, and that the parties revisit being able to make transfers from one meter to another.
At an extraordinary statutory meeting on September 7, 13 of 25 councillors voted to continue the metered parking system with SCS, pending a renegotiation of the controversial contract with the company.
This committee has reportedly met on several occasions to assess the contract, its amendment and the parking meter bylaws. upon entering demanded cash and asked for directions to the cash vault.
They ransacked the drawers and collected an undisclosed amount of cash. Checks made after the robbery revealed that a sum of $60,000 was missing from the drawer raided by the bandits. After that, the men went to the cash vault. The gunmen stole $135.000 from the vault and then placed Gibson to lie on the floor as they continued to search the office for cash and other valuables. The bandits also stole her phone before escaping.
The gunmen, police said, ran through a street and entered a blue motor vehicle and made good their escape in the northern direction.
Police are yet to arrest the perpetrators and investigations are continuing.