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Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club has launched another legal challenge aiming to stop a 111-unit affordable housing development it says threatens parking space critical for its survival.
The historic curling club filed an application in the Court of King’s Bench Wednesday seeking a judicial review of the city’s decision to approve building permits to developer UWCRC 2.0 Inc.
It follows a previous challenge asking the courts to weigh in on whether Winnipeg councillors violated the city’s charter when they voted to subdivide and rezone a parking lot next to the club to allow for the development.
A judge reserved his decision on that matter this summer, and a ruling is still pending.
The new challenge asks among other things for an interim injunction barring anyone from carrying out work on the site, and the city from granting any more permits.
It also asks barricades set around the parking lot on Oct. 6 be removed and for the club’s use of those spaces to be restored.
“The club is suffering irreparable harm,” the application said.
“It has lost all use of the parking lot property for an indefinite period of time. Further construction will materially alter the physical state of the [property] and impair the club’s ability to obtain effective relief.”
Excavation and “other site disturbance activities” began at the site a day after the barricades were set up, the application said.
The Granite said permits allowing foundation and construction work at the site — which it’s also asking the courts to quash — were unlawful and unreasonable.
Adequate parking plan requirement not met, club says
The club said the city did not follow a condition imposed by council to develop an “adequate parking plan” supporting its operational sustainability before permits were approved.
The Granite said the city did not provide it with a finalized parking plan, and that the club also did not get any notice about the approvals.
Proposed arrangements “remain incomplete and contingent on … further design work, future agreements and implementation steps,” the application said.
“There was no assurance that the proposed parking arrangements would remain available, and the city reserved the right to reconsider, modify or withdraw them.”
The City of Winnipeg previously said it offered to replace 50 out of 60 parking stalls that would be removed by the project.
The application said the directors of the Public Works department and the Planning, Property and Development department did not properly analyze the actual parking requirements for a 1,300-member curling club.
The Granite is also asking officials to produce all records they reviewed before issuing the permits.
CBC News reached out to Granite secretary Christian Pierce and UWCRC 2.0 CEO Jeremy Read Friday afternoon. Neither was immediately available for comment.