11 January 2006
New Twist in Arbutus Corridor Fight
Vancouver - Vancouver city councillor David Cadman is raising concerns about a CP Rail
newspaper ad about the future use of its land along the Arbutus corridor on the city's west side.
The ad promotes a series of public co-design workshops to come up with a vision for the land. But nowhere does it say it's
the CPR that has initiated the process.
Neither does it mention the company's ongoing battle with the City of Vancouver over the right to develop lands along the Arbutus
Corridor which runs through an upscale residential area.
LINK: CPR's Arbutus Lands web promotion
The city and the CPR have been mired in a court battle since 1999 when the railway unveiled detailed development plans that proposed
a mix of commercial and residential uses.
The following year the City of Vancouver passed a bylaw designating the 10-kilometre strip of land as a transportation
corridor - and preventing any development from going ahead.
That triggered a legal battle that went to the Supreme Court of Canada in November, and a decision from the high court is expected in
the next few months.
FROM 8 Apr 2004: City wins Arbutus Corridor fight
Cadman suspects that in the interim, the railway is trying to sway public opinion.
"What they're trying to do is take their case to the community adjacent to the rail line, to try to build up a different perception
of what that community wants relative to what the city might want."
Mark Holland, the project co-ordinator for the Arbutus Lands visioning process, says regardless of the court's decision,
the CPR has indicated that it is "committed to stewarding the public's intent and vision and dreams."
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