Hospital plan adjudicator declines to recuse himself
CAMPP had concerns; proponents say move was delaying tactic
The long-awaited legal showdown over the new mega-hospital location had a rocky start Tuesday when one of the sides moved to have the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal adjudicator step down over concerns of potential bias.
A lawyer for Citizens for an Accountable Megahospital Planning Process (CAMPP), which opposes the planned location near the airport, kicked things off with a motion to have the adjudicator recuse himself.
CAMPP was concerned over correspondence from the city and Windsor Regional Hospital regarding failed discussions about facts.
The adjudicator wanted both sides to reach an agreed statement of facts in the case, which they could not do.
“It’s basically a long series of criticisms,” CAMPP lawyer Eric Gillespie said of the ensuing correspondence. “It puts a cloud over CAMPP.”
“Our client doesn’t want to be in front of a tribunal that has been influenced that way.”
The tribunal, in a hearing scheduled for three days in city council chambers, must rule on CAMPP’S appeal of the proposed hospital location at County Road 42 and Concession 9.
The group launched a legal challenge in 2018 after Windsor city council endorsed Windsor Regional Hospital’s choice of that location.
CAMPP wants the tribunal to allow an appeal of the Official Plan amendment and new zoning of the property and have the issue kicked back to city council for further review.
Scott Tousaw, the adjudicator with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, considered CAMPP’S motion to have him removed for 90 minutes before returning to council chambers and denying it.
There was “no breach of settlement privilege,” he said.
Gillespie told reporters after the hearing broke for the day that CAMPP can live with that ruling.
“Essentially, I think we all heard the tribunal member say he doesn’t believe that will affect his decision,” he said.
“That’s really the root of the problem. So if the problem gets solved that way, then I believe CAMPP will be satisfied with that outcome.”
Windsor Regional Hospital issued a statement Tuesday evening expressing disdain the issue was brought up in the first place.
Calling for the LPAT adjudicator to recuse himself at the outset of this week’s hearing “is troubling in the sense it, unfortunately, shows that there is a tactic to just try to delay this process and hearing and call into question the integrity of LPAT,” the hospital said.
“Windsor Regional Hospital looks forward to the conclusion of this hearing when we, together as a region, can address whatever the ultimate ruling is on the merits and hopefully move forward with the planning for the Windsor-essex Hospitals System without delay. Any further delay should continue to be met with this skepticism.”
After his motion to have Tousaw recuse himself was shot down, Gillespie began setting out CAMPP’S appeal arguments.
He stressed that CAMPP is not against a new hospital, just the proposed location.
Gillespie said the proposed site is in a designated floodplain area, will contribute to urban sprawl and increase dependence on car-based transportation.
Gillespie argued the location also flies in the face of environmental efforts because it fails to reuse existing buildings or consider brownfield lands, it’s a low-density project, the proposed property is a “greensite,” and the plan will destroy farmland.
“This is not an environmentally friendly project,” said Gillespie.
Gillespie said the current plan still moves it further away from the county’s most densely populated areas and will present “land-use barriers” for seniors and people with impaired abilities.
“It’s obvious if you move your acute-care facilities a long ways away … you’re going to have an adverse effect.”
Lawyers for the hospital and the City of Windsor begin making their arguments on Wednesday.