Owners of Dara Mental Health Services were thrilled to learn the Subdivision Development Appeal Board (SDAB) upheld their appeal relating to a notice of decision they received back on April 19.

Michelle Copithorne and Dr. Carl Adrian appealed the decision on May 30 on behalf of Dara in relation to their responsibility to cover expenses of burying the Fortis-owned power lines that run adjacent to Dara’s property on public lands. Dara felt that the Town’s interpretation of Bylaw 11.28.0 (“All shallow utility service shall be underground”), as it was applied in this case, represented an inconsistent and arbitrary application of the bylaw.

The pair along with presenters Dr. Julie Torrie, Larry Want, and Brent Schmidt presented a strong case in which they believed the Planning Department’s requirement of them to enter into a Deferred Servicing Agreement to cover the proportional expenses associated with the burying of the main privately-owned power line was not aligned with the Town of Cochrane’s Municipal Development Plan, the Heritage Management Plan, the Lower East Neighbourhood Plan, nor the Municipal Government Act.

More than the dollars and cents involved, Copithorne was pleased to learn the board adhered to the reasons they presented not necessarily influenced by the service Dara will provide. "I think the argument we presented even if I was just a residential homeowner the arguments were logical and the precedent had been set as an appeal at the provincial level with a similar case to our's and I think the board saw the legal precedence and the interpretation of the bylaw based on the municipal government act and decided to see the logic in what we were saying."

Copithorne and Adrian put quite a bit of time into their appeal and believe in this case their 'win' was due to them fundamentally proving why they were appealing the decision...not a he said, she said argument. "I didn't want to go in with fluff, I felt it was necessary to prove why we were doing this; what is fundamentally a misinterpretation of this bylaw and in order to do that you really have to go to case law. I think it was important to create that kind of presentation in order to be effective."

The next step for Dara besides fulfilling the conditions set forth by the SDAB are to have contractors bid and development permits issued within the next few weeks. Copithorne is hopeful the proverbial shovel hits the ground by August or September with doors of Dara Mental Health Services opening in early 2018.

 

READ MORE:

Power Lines Come Under Fire