Court of Appeal sides with Vancouver in land-swap case

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The City of Vancouver has scored an important vote of confidence after three B.C. Court of Appeal judges concluded the city did a good job of informing Yaletown residents about a land-swap deal aimed at creating more social housing.

In a ruling released Thursday, the judges explained an April 23 decision to dismiss a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that city staff had not presented complete, understandable information about the project to the public.

That lower-court ruling halted construction of the project – a proposal by Brenhill Developments Ltd. to build a 162-unit replacement for the aging Jubilee House social-housing complex, which is located beside Emery Barnes Park in Yaletown.

Appeal Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman, backed by two other justices, pointedly disagreed with several key conclusions of the lower court's January ruling.

"In sum, the chambers judge erred in holding that the City ought to have disclosed more information than it did before the Public Hearing," Chief Justice Bauman wrote in his 29-page ruling.

"What then of the information that was disclosed? Was the chambers judge correct to hold that it was problematically technical, and in some respects, arbitrary? In my opinion, he was not."

He noted that the city "chose to disclose a great deal of information about the overall land exchange even though this was not required," then quoted a policy report he described as "thorough, clear and cogent" to reinforce the point.

The ruling was a blow to the Community Association of New Yaletown, which sued the city and revelled in a win last January.

At the time, group member Kerry Corlett described the proposal as a "terrible deal" for Vancouver that should have been put to an open bidding process. He also expressed concerns about the project's impact on Emery Barnes Park.

But on Thursday, Mr. Corlett was more cautious, deferring to the comment of his lawyer Nathalie Baker.

"This is a significant decision that will impact how municipalities across Canada conduct public hearings and, ultimately, the degree of transparency required of local governments," Ms. Baker wrote in an e-mail. "Our client is considering whether to apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada."

Jubilee House sits on city land. Brenhill proposed turning its replacement over to the city for lease to the society that operates Jubilee House. In return, the city would transfer the land to Brenhill, which would then build a 36-storey tower on the site containing 448 units – including 110 secured market-rental units – as well as a two-storey preschool and rental space.

Chief Justice Bauman described the arrangement as "creative."

On Thursday, the City of Vancouver said it was pleased with the new ruling, saying it has "validated" the city's public-hearing process.