Haldi Rd Group Seeks Support For Court Battle
Wednesday, July 10, 2013 @ 3:59 AM
Prince George, B.C. – Seeking support from the city residents at large, the Haldi Road residents, are asking for help to continue their fight for all neighbourhoods over changes to the Official Community Plan (OCP).
In a media release, the members of the group says they are continuing with their court action . They feel strongly that Mayor Green and Council are disregarding the concerns of the citizens of Prince George. The group says they have received legal advice and their lawyer, Roy Stewart, again believes that he has a strong case.
Stewart says he will be merging the challenges. One is a challenge of the OCP ammendment which allows the development of institutional uses in all residential neighbourhoods, the other argument
is based on the alleged conflict of interest involving Mayor Green and the owners of the former Haldi Road School property.
Stewart is requesting that if the court rules Mayor Green was in conflict, that she be disqualified from office.
The Haldi Road group says they are attempting to inform the rest of Prince George. "We need to act fast and gather funds to continue the fight for all neighborhoods in Prince George" reads the media release. The group estimates it will take about $30 thousand dollars to move forward to trial.
The group is asking that donations be made to directly to Roy Stewart, in trust, at 1057-3rd Ave and a receipt will be given . All donations will be kept confidential.
Mayor Green recently filed an affidavit dealing with the matter. In that affidavit she says she was not in conflict in voting on the most recent decision and did excuse herself from voting in fourth reading in the first attempt to change of the OCP which was later overturned by the court.
Green says that after the September 19-2011 council meeting , Marshall Smith, who was involved in the Re Zoning application,"wanted to meet with me to learn more about me and my plans as Mayor". " I asked if he could provide a list of media contact addresses, which he did" .
Green goes on to say that she met Brian Fehr in his office in Prince George. " We had a conversation about the Mayors race and he indicated that he was also meeting the incumbent Mayor." Green says they did not discuss the Leslie Road application that was then before council and "I was not aware at that time that he was a title holder on the property". Green says on October 3rd she voted in favour of the by law which passed 6-3.
Green says it was not until January of 2012 that she learned from Marshall Smith, who had become a ‘fast friend’ that he was now an employee of Bid Group of companies owned by Brian Fehr "whom I had also learned was a titleholder of the property at Leslie Road."
On April 17-2012, now Mayor Green, says she met then Minister Pat Bell, in Victoria on a variety of issues . She states that Bell made what she considered to be an intimidating suggestion about Fehr and Smith . She says Bell "knew of my close friendship with Marshall Smith." Green says she shared the remarks with Marshall Smith and Smith shared the remarks with Brian Fehr. On April 30th -2012 Mayor Green wrote a hand written note to Brian Fehr which she says "I did not intend to be made public". She says she delivered the note to Brian Fehr’s office on April 30th-2012.
In mid March of 2013 an article appeared in the National Post according to Mayor Green. "In that article Brian Fehr described me as an "Old Friend’." Green says she is not an ‘old friend’ of Brian Fehr’s "I consider him to be a community acquaintance and nothing more."
In his affidavit Brian Fehr says "I am not a personal friend of the Mayor and certainly am not an old friend. I am simply a businessperson who has had some interaction and dealings with the Mayor on matters in the community that interest or concern me". He goes on to say "with respect to the quote attributed to me I could have used the words when being interviewed by the press (an old friend) and if I did so, they were used as a figure of speech.
No date has yet been set for a court hearing.
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Editor’s Note: Because this matter is before the courts, comments will not be allowed.
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