A local developer is suing Sturgeon County because it has put a moratorium on new developments around Cardiff.
Norman Suvan of Edmonton's Nor-Chris Holdings Inc., filed a statement of claim last Friday with the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. The lawsuit calls on the court to overturn a moratorium on new subdivisions in and around Cardiff imposed by Sturgeon County.
County council voted 4-3 on Feb. 28 in favour of a motion from Coun. Tom Flynn to put a moratorium on new multi-lot subdivisions around Cardiff until the county had completed an area structure plan for the region.
That motion put Suvan's plans to build the 190-lot Estates of Cardiff subdivision on indefinite hold. "We've been waiting on this thing for six years," he said, and they've invested about $2.5 million. Council had also voted 6-1 in favour of the project at a Jan. 24 committee-of-the-whole meeting.
"All of a sudden Tom Flynn comes up and says, 'Oh, we're going to put you in a moratorium,' " Suvan said. "There's no time limit on the moratorium. They've basically put me on a shelf."
The lawsuit alleges that the county did not have the legal authority to impose the moratorium, did not pass it in a fair manner, did not have a legitimate planning purpose for it, and had denied Suvan the beneficial economic use of his land by passing it. None of these claims have been proven in court.
"We've done absolutely everything we've been asked to do," Suvan said. "All we're suing for is to have [the county] rescind that resolution and let us get on with life."
Council defends move
While Flynn would not comment on the lawsuit, as it was before the courts, he did defend council's decision to bring in the Cardiff moratorium. Cardiff was about to see two new subdivisions, a road expansion and a major new interchange at Highway 2 crop up in a short period of time, all of which concerned local residents.
"I probably received in excess of 100 calls from the community there," many of which raised concerns about how these developments would affect local traffic, Flynn said. "I have no choice but to represent the people who are involved, the ones who are on the ground and are paying the bills today."
The county was working with the Town of Morinville and other groups to determine what sort of planning the region needed and when it would be completed, Flynn said. Council was also willing to sit down with developers to figure out a reasonable schedule for their projects.
But it would be a mistake to keep adding new developments to this region without first looking at the big picture, Flynn said. "I don't want to hold things up forever. I want to make sure we have a plan going forward."
The courts will now examine Suvan's suit to see if it should go to trial.
