A group of Akinsdale residents angered by an affordable housing development in their neighbourhood have dropped a lawsuit against the city and the St. Albert Protestant school board.
A group of 14 residents filed a lawsuit last September aiming to block the sale and rezoning of the land at 70 Arlington Dr., the site of a proposed Habitat for Humanity development. City council approved the project anyway and the build is now moving forward.
The residents realized they were fighting a losing battle and dropped the suit, said Gerry Kress, one of the complainants.
“We felt that, if we carried it out, we probably won’t benefit any [further] on it,” Kress said.
He said the lawsuit revealed that the original intention for the land was to be a reserve or returned to the city if not used for its original purpose. But it was clear that there was no legal way to block the sale so the plaintiffs told the city not to bother filing a statement of defence while they worked “at the political angle.”
“We had hopes that council and the school board would reconsider their positions,” Kress said. “It didn’t go our way,”
“If the political will isn’t there and the support of the elected officials, you’re pretty much fighting a losing battle,” he said.
The Protestant school board retained ownership of the land after deciding not to build a school there, a point that has angered residents who felt it should have become city property.
In the end, it was the city that brokered a deal and provided the $840,000 for the sale between the board and Habitat for Humanity Edmonton.
The city’s legal team told council all along that there was no merit to the lawsuit and that the city didn’t have to respond.
“There was no basis for the lawsuit,” said Mayor Nolan Crouse, who wasn’t surprised to hear the suit was dropped.
“This is what we were told by our legal council. Every time there was a question about it we were told the same thing, so I’m not surprised.”
Other complainants named in the suit were: Geoff Jorden, Nancy Jorden, Ron Collins, John Richards, Gordon T. Wheaton, Valerie Richards, Sue Languedoc, Blaine Emmons, Amber Emmons, Dave Evans, Roger Hicks, Elizabeth Hicks and Donna Prato.
Protestant board chair Joan Trettler was glad to see an end to the lawsuit.
“We hope that it works out well for the people that live there,” she said.
