The Kingsway Entertainment District is starting to take shape.

The planning committee approved Wednesday a request for rezoning, which will allow the events centre to be built at the site. Only Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh opposed the motion.

But the decision did not come without intensive public debate. Most speakers Wednesday said locating the arena on the Kingsway would be the worst decision council could make. In fact, just two of the 25 or so people who spoke were in favour of the entertainment district.

Many who took to the podium cited concerns about the health of Ramsey Lake because of the increased use of winter salt to maintain the parking lots and roadways in the area.

McIntosh, who chairs the planning committee, asked a series of questions on the health of Ramsey Lake. For one thing, she wanted to know what kind of role phosphorous could play. It is a problem for lakes prone to milfoil and blue green algae. But planning staff said they did not envision phosphorous becoming a problem, since there would be very little fertilizer used at the Kingsway Entertainment District.

Dave Shelsted, who is overseeing the arena project, said the city is considering the use of calcium chloride to replace road salt.

“We’d be amenable to doing a pilot project with calcium chloride as an alternative agent,” he said.

The first member of the public to speak Wednesday was Rowan Faludi, an urban planner and economist with urbanMetrics. Upon reflecting on the amazing projects the city has undertaken – including regreening, Science North, the architecture school and SNOLAB – he said it makes no sense to place the arena on the Kingsway.

“As an economist, I cannot understand how someone can look at this strong base and say what’s missing is a casino-anchored entertainment centre on the edge of the urban area,” he said.

A 5,800-seat arena with 1,250 parking spaces is proposed for the 11.96-hectare property on the Kingsway. It will be part of an entertainment district that will likely include an 82,839-square-foot casino – the planning committee approved rezoning Monday for the gaming centre – as well as a 15-storey hotel. The casino and hotel will be connected, via an enclosed pedestrian bridge, to the events centre. The projects will share an outdoor plaza referred to as Festival Square.

Andre Dumais, a vocal supporter of the downtown arena – he and Tom Fortin are affiliated, and have hired a lawyer to appeal council’s decision – said residents are begging to locate the arena downtown.

“I find it unfortunate and disappointing that planning supported this application. It simply boggles the mind,” he said. “The downtown is not in Ramsey Lake’s watershed and we already have the infrastructure.”

Gordon Petch, an Oakville-based lawyer hired by Fortin and supporters of a downtown arena, said Wednesday afternoon council has made a number of legal errors. For one thing, they did not undertake economic impact studies on how the move will impact the core, which are legislated by the provincial government.

“It’s a matter of law and that’s to prevent municipalities from making bad decisions,” he said. “So you don’t kill downtowns.”

Downtowns act as economic and cultural hubs, but once new development zones take root, vacancy rates rise, buildings are boarded up and downtowns become terrible financial drains on municipalities.

By not hosting public information and input sessions, Petch said council did not do their due diligence.

“There are errors of law throughout the whole thing and the commitment on June 27, 2017 for the arena site was an error in law,” Petch said. “Council decided on June 27 to put the arena on the Kingsway. It was done and then they spent $125,000 on a partnership with the casino operator and Zulich to design their mutual site. And then they passed a bylaw to take out $100 million in debt – pure debt – in their 2018 budget. They’ve already committed to all this. They’ve already made their decision.”

Locating the events centre in close proximity to the city’s primary landfill site also made several residents uncomfortable.

Don MacDonell said council has proceeded without fully investigating the impacts of winter maintenance on Ramsey Lake.

“You don’t have enough information to make a proper decision,” he said. “I’m ashamed to say this council has voted to do that.”

MacDonell said the downtown arena is an anchor and the “heart of the community” and he drew comparisons to Sears, which recently left the New Sudbury Shopping Centre. MacDonell said other businesses in the mall have suffered since its departure.

People “will go anywhere to satisfy their vices,” he added.

Geoff McCausland, a local musician and business owner, said locating the arena on the Kingsway is actually a form of discrimination – against lower-income people, youth, those with mobility issues, seniors and other vulnerable populations. He said by placing the events centre on the Kingsway, it prioritizes parking and vehicles over people.

“It’s like saying to someone, ‘I used your money to throw this awesome party but you can’t come’,” he said. “By prioritizing parking and car access, we say openly that our citizens who own cars are more important than our citizens who do not. This discrimination is completely unacceptable.”

Joel Belliveau, a history professor at Laurentian University, said council is making legacy decisions the city will have to live with for decades.

“Are you comfortable with this legacy?” he asked. “Is this what you had in mind when you got into politics, or did you imagine instead participating in a healthy and fruitful debate? Did you even imagine changing things?”

He said councillors still had an opportunity to change their minds about the project.

“If you change your mind right now you would be throwing a wrench in the works; yes, it would be very uncomfortable for a while,” Belliveau said. “But what’s the alternative? To be a rubber stamp now, to choose the path of least resistance? And then to have an uncomfortable feeling for years if the critics are right. What is that voice inside your head telling you?”

Ward 6 Coun. Rene Lapierre, who originally voted in favour of the Kingsway site, said the concerns of residents have made him think twice.

“It does make me think because there’s been a lot of good information, including information staff has taken into the report, which is kind of interesting, such as salt mitigation,” he said. “Although there are a lot of concerns, it seems like we have a good risk management plan and we’re able to mitigate most of those.”

As for economic impact, Lapierre said he and proponents of a downtown location will “have to agree to disagree.” He said he would continue to listen to his constituents and “will decide from there” on his final vote.

Council will vote on the planning decision on April 10.

mkkeown@postmedia.com

Twitter: @marykkeown

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