Casino Free Sudbury announced it has withdrawn its appeal of the Superior Court ruling regarding the allegedly shown bias when it comes to Kingsway Entertainment District. Other appeals are still before the Local Planning Appeal tribunal and they are expected to see a resolution in the foreseeable future. Sudbury businessman Tom Fortin is one of the main opponents of the project.
The past few months have been quite eventful for the large entertainment zone and the individuals and organizations opposing its construction. The first days of October saw the deadline for appeals of the Superior Court ruling made at the beginning of September. Mr. Fortin disagreed with it, which is why his lawyer Gordon Petch filed the appeal on October 2.
Kingsway Entertainment District
This was also their last chance to file it and prove a point that bias has been shown when approving several bylaws related to Kingsway Entertainment District. October 30 saw a turn of events, as Mr. Fortin decided to abandon his previously filed appeal of the Superior Court ruling. He claimed earlier this fall that the City Council was biased when making a decision regarding the upcoming Kingsway Entertainment District.
Several bylaws allowing the Kingsway area to feature the new events center coming with many entertainment possibilities and a casino complex were targeted by Mr. Fortin. The Superior Court ruled that the City of Greater Sudbury did not show bias when giving its approval to the CA$100-million entertainment zone. Regional Senior Judge Ellies pointed out that Mr. Fortin has failed to establish that there was any statutory breach in the evidence he filed back in October 2019.
The appeal filed earlier by Mr. Fortin was preventing the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal from going forward with its normal operation. Some of the appeals that have yet to see their fate include the Official Plan amendment which has allowed the construction of a casino complex with an adjacent hotel venue.
LPAT
Moreover, the LPAT has yet to see a ruling on the rezoning decision greenlighted by the City Council, also allowing a casino complex to be built within Kingsway Entertainment District. Mr. Fortin, the Downtown Sudbury BIA, as well as Sudbury resident Christopher Duncanson-Hales are all appealing the aforementioned approvals which reshape the entertainment zone into a gambling-friendly area.
Casino Free Sudbury, the organization opposing these changes recently shed more light on its decision to withdraw its appeal of the Superior Court ruling. This does not mean that the organization abandons its efforts to see a casino-free area, as its appeals will still have to be looked through by the LPAT. Following the submission of the appeal, lawyers advised the organization to withdraw it.
The reason for that was the insufficient power this appeal had to overturn the Superior Court’s decision. The price of the appeal was estimated at CA$200,000. It is no secret that Mr. Fortin’s ongoing battle with the city has resulted in substantial costs. The upcoming weeks are expected to see more information on the LPAT process which is no longer stuck.
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