After months of procedural battles, the future of the Capital Pointe development site is still up in the air. On Tuesday, lawyers for the developers, Westgate Properties, faced off against a lawyer for the city in a Regina court room.

The purpose of the case, filed by the city, is to determine whether or not the Saskatchewan Building and Accessibility Standards Board had the right to give the developer the option to continue construction. The city says the developer cannot continue with construction without applying for the proper permits.

The “hole” issue stems from an order by the city issued on April 3, alleging that the Capital Pointe excavation is unsafe. The city issued an order for the developer to backfill the site.

The developer appealed the decision, and in July the appeal board heard testimony on the case for three days. Following the appeal, the board issued a decision saying that the site is safe, but may not remain so. They gave the developer three options: fill the site, build permanent shoring of the excavation, or complete the project.

In late September, the developer opted to complete construction on the project by 2022; however it is unclear how the current suit will impact those plans.

In the courtroom on Tuesday, Neil Abbott, the lawyer for Westgate Properties Ltd., argued that it was only the job of the court to determine if the board’s decision was reasonable.

Justice Timothy Keene, who is presiding over the case, asked if it would be appropriate for him to rule that the board needs to re-examine the order and issue a different remedy in the case.

Abbott testified that it he doesn’t believe the board needs to get involved again, because the city now has jurisdiction over construction at the site, in that they must issue permits before any work can continue.

“My client can’t lift a shovel if the city says no,” Abbott said. “If anyone should be complaining, it should be my client.”

The matter is complicated further by the fact there is no transcript from the appeal hearing in July.

Justice Keene must now read through 1,000 pages of submissions before deciding whether or not the appeal board’s decision should be overturned.

 

CTV’s Karyn Mulcahy was at court.