Rocky View County councillors have voted to accept the reimbursement of $47,000 in court costs awarded to the County by the Court of Queen’s Bench.
The costs were awarded to the County following two applications for judicial reviews associated with the development of Bingham Crossing. In both cases, the judges presiding over the reviews sided in the County’s favour.
Two residents of the Springbank area — Doug Bulger and Nancy Desai — applied for the reviews with help from the Springbank Community Planning Association. The applicants were challenging the fairness of the processes of the development after County council changed the North Springbank Area Structure Plan and altered the land-use bylaw to permit Bingham Crossing.
The Bingham Crossing development includes office and retail space, along with seniors housing.
It will be located northeast of the Highway 1 and Range Road 33 junction — kitty corner to Calaway Park.
The first judicial review was filed Oct. 22, 2012, spurred by the Sept.11, 2012 hearing on the amendment to the structure plan.
Bulger and Desai applied for the second judicial review Dec. 20, 2012 — this time for the public hearings that approved the re-designation of the land-use bylaw.
In both cases, the Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary dismissed claims that the County was being unfair.
In addition, legal costs were awarded to partially cover the County’s legal expenses — a total of $47,000 was awarded.
The costs are to be paid by the plaintiffs.
According to a media release from RVC, the County estimates the overall legal costs associated with the two judicial reviews to be in excess of $150,000, in addition to staff time.
