By Pepper Parr
May 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
City hall kept getting the feeling that they were being jerked around by the owners of the Air Park on Appleby Line where tonnes of landfill, much of it from sources unknown, had been illegally dumped putting significant sums into the coffers of the Air Park.
Vince Rossi, president of the Burlington Executive Air Park and believed to be the sole shareholder of the private company, met with north Burlington residents. He took all the comments made “under advisement”..
It took a court case to determine that the city had some regulatory authority over the air park and the winning of an appeal to drive that point home.
The city then asked the Air Park to submit a site plan for the work they had been doing on the property.
The Burlington Executive Airpark was given 30 days, from March 20, 2015, to comply with the city’s site alteration bylaw 64-2014 after months of discussion between officials at the city and the Airpark failed to produce the required application.
The City of Burlington site alteration bylaw 64-2014 regulates the placing, dumping, cutting and removal of fill or the alteration of grades or drainage on a piece of land. Individuals undertaking this type of work are first required to submit an application to the city for a site alteration permit.
Trucks dumping fill on air park property.
The Burlington Airpark Inc. has not submitted an application for a site alteration permit for the entire area of the Airpark property where substantial quantities of fill were deposited between 2008 and 2014.
The hearing that was to take place on the 28th was to have a judge compel the Air Park to file the site plan.
On May 21, last Thursday, the Ontario Court of Justice heard a motion from Burlington Airpark Inc. to remove paragraphs from a City of Burlington affidavit supporting the city’s application. Burlington Airpark Inc. argued these paragraphs contain an improper reference to “without prejudice” discussions between the city and the Airpark.
The Ontario Court of Justice granted the motion to remove the paragraphs from the affidavit and awarded Burlington Airpark Inc. $3,500 in costs to be paid by the city.
The court date to hear the city’s application regarding Burlington Airpark Inc. was rescheduled from May 28, 2015, to Nov. 10, 2015, before a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Burlington Air Park with two runways.
The November date is the earliest the Court has sufficient time to hear the city’s application and a Notice of Constitutional Question filed by Burlington Airpark Inc.
The notice challenges the constitutional validity of the city’s site alteration bylaw 64-2014.
Most people thought that question had been answered by the Ontario Court of Appeal – this matter is going to go around and around – the Air Park wants – perhaps needs, to buy some time. Drug dealers and other criminals do that kind of thing all the time.
Hearings for discovery of the tree people being sued by the Air Park for saying things President Vince Rossi didn’t like are to take place in June.
Wonder how they should go about getting a delay – is there a constitutional remedy for them ?
