On a night when Meaford Council was set to pass a bylaw that would have rescinded bylaw 80-2007 and terminated the lawsuit against residents on Georgian Beach Road, a stunning turn of events ensured that the lawsuit would continue.
Councillor Cynthia Lemon requested permission to put forward a resolution that was not on the original agenda. That resolution sought to rescind the resolution that was passed in a 4-2 vote at the June 28 meeting of council which laid the groundwork for bringing forth a bylaw to terminate the lawsuit.
Councillor Lynda Stephens seconded the resolution put forward by Lemon.
Citing unspecified new information put before members of council during an in camera session held prior to last night's (July 12) meeting, Councillor Harley Greenfield, and Deputy Mayor Michael Traynor each had a change of heart and voted in favour of rescinding the resolution that they had supported just two weeks earlier.
“We did have a meeting at five o'clock with our legal advisers, and at that time we received some 11th hour information (from municipal lawyers and insurance representatives) and that information indicated that terminating the lawsuit by rescinding bylaw 80-2007 at this time is not advisable, and potentially financially dangerous for our municipality,” explained Greenfield.
Councillor Jim McPherson who has been a vocal opponent of the municipal legal action that has sought to enforce a bylaw from 1854 which indicates that a road access exists on the water side of properties located along Georgian Beach Road, and this according to the municipality means that property owners are not entitled to barricade or otherwise develop on the land in question, was not convinced that the legal action should continue.
“I've never met a legal team that says they can't win a case,” began McPherson referencing the in camera session with municipal lawyers, “That's their job. But when you go into court, 50 percent of the lawyers lose. You have a 50 percent chance, it doesn't matter how good you are. I am not willing to go forward with this legal case.”
McPherson also said that though the cost of terminating the lawsuit at this juncture would be high, it will cost much more if it continues and the municipality loses in court.
To date the case has cost the municipality in excess of half a million dollars, and has only recently entered a courtroom. Even if the municipality wins, McPherson anticipates several years of appeals and further lawsuits filed.
In a recorded vote, the resolution to rescind the previous resolution and continue the lawsuit passed 4-2 with only Councillors Shortt and McPherson voting against.
After the meeting Councillor McPherson was visibly disappointed.
“I think this is a fatal error on the part of this council,” McPherson told The Independent, “I think it is quite clear that the majority of residents down there are going to be involved in litigation for many, many years. Waterfront property- I wouldn't purchase it right now. There are other bylaws out there that haven't seen the light of day for more than 100 years.”
Councillor Lemon on the other hand felt that the courtroom is the only place that a resolution to the issue can be found.
“We have taken several cracks at mediating this particular issue,” Lemon said after the meeting, “And the people involved don't want to mediate, so we won't have a definitive answer any other way than through the courts. And to step back now legally exposes the municipality, to finish mitigates that risk.”
