Lawyers fighting the location of the new Windsor Regional Hospital will not be allowed to use the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence in the divisional court hearing.
A Divisional Court hearing was held Wednesday to raise legal questions in a Local Planning Appeal Tribunal's (LPAT) decision that dismissed complaints by a grassroots organization that is fighting the official plan and zoning bylaw amendments.
The bylaw amendments currently allow the hospital to be built at the proposed location of County Road 42 and the 9th Concession.
Eric Gillespie, who represents the Citizens for an Accountable Mega-hospital Planning Process, attempted to file an amendment on Wednesday to use the current pandemic situation as evidence of poor planning principles. However, the amendment was denied by Justice Greg Verbeem.
The hearing continued with submissions from Gillespie who argued that the LPAT decision did not follow the Ontario policy statement and official planning documents, which state that emergency services should be located in populated areas.
The Divisional Court hearing will continue on May 11 at 10 a.m. with further submissions from Gillespie before the City of Windsor and Windsor Regional Hospital representation will be allowed to respond.
