Covenant scrapped (KELOWNA)

By Ron SeymourMonday, April 30, 2007
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories.php?id=41508

The long-delayed development of Jim Stuart Park across from City Hall will now proceed after city council on Monday unanimously endorsed a plan to rezone the site as parkland. Creation of the park fits in with the city‘s goal of preserving and enhancing public access to Okanagan Lake throughout the downtown core, said Mayor Sharon Shepherd. “What we‘re trying to achieve is to have the lakefront available to all members of our community,” she said. The park site is currently used as a parking lot, a situation council members were eager to see changed. “It‘s my dream and my hope that we‘ll be playing in that park sooner rather than later,” said Coun. Michele Rule. Council agreed to remove the so-called Simpson Covenant from the title to the land, saying it was outdated, legally unenforceable and did not guarantee public access to the waterfront. Sharron Simpson, a former councillor whose family sold the land to the city in 1946, indicated she would pursue legal action against the city. Simpson believes the agreement signed between her family and the city offers stronger assurance that the lands in question would be protected for public use. But the city‘s legal advice is that the covenant has no legal standing and that the successor to the agreement is not the Simpson family, but an out-of-province holding company. That firm has already given its consent for the covenant to be discharged from the land title. Standard practice is for municipalities to remove outdated notices on land titles, director of corporate services David Shipclark told council.

The goal of preserving public access to the waterfront is better achieved through rezoning it as parkland, rather than “relying on an unenforceable covenant,” Shipclark said. He conceded it would be possible for a future council to rezone the land, as could be done with any property, but suggested that would be unlikely given the city‘s long commitment to acquiring more land on the waterfront for public use. “I think there are far more safeguards for the public through zoning,” Coun. Carol Gran said, noting that a covenant can be discharged fairly simply, while a rezoning process would involve public notice and public hearings. “The vision of council is to have continuous public access to the waterfront,” said Coun. Norm Letnick. “We‘re confirming that the land will be there in perpetuity for public use,” agreed Coun. Brian Given. The city has had numerous meetings with Simpson to try to amicably resolve the different interpretations of the covenant, with no apparent success. “We hoped we could come together, but I know the family is not satisfied,” Shepherd said. Simpson, who was in the council chambers, walked out as Shepherd was speaking