A group raising money to counter Parksville’s 222 Corfield supportive housing project through legal means has filed a lawsuit against the city.
In an update on the No To 222 GoFundMe page started by Melanie Van Der Stock and associated with the www.parksvillecares.com website, Van Der Stock wrote on Friday, Aug. 10 that “our lawsuit against the City of Parksville was filed on time with the Supreme Court of Canada (sic: Supreme Court of B.C.). Now we wait for the city to respond which will likely take a few weeks.”
The NEWS obtained file information through B.C. Court Services Online (CSO) showing that the file opened on Friday, Aug. 3, and naming four petitioners (those who filed asking for a court ruling). They are: Ron Chiovetti, Adam Fras, Doug O’Brien and Van Der Stock. However, a copy of the petition made to the court lists a fifth petitioner: Berwick Retirement Communities Ltd.
In terms of the petitioners’ legal challenge, the petition largely points to the handling of the public hearing on the rezoning for 222 Corfield Street South.
The petition also show Mark Sager as the five petitioners’ counsel.
An email to Sager from the NEWS asking for comment and sent the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 10 has not yet been answered.
A message sent to Van Der Stock also asking for comment and sent at the same time has also not yet been answered.
O’Brien said he did not have any comment, except to note that a statement from the legal firm representing the group should be out shortly.
So far, the NEWS has not recieved a response from Chiovetti after making a request for comment.
The City of Parksville’s manager of communications, Debbie Tardiff commented, saying, “I can say that we (the city) have received the documents related to the judicial review of the zoning process and they are now with the city’s solicitors.”
The No To 222 GoFundMe page has reached $32,071 raised as of Saturday morning, Aug. 11. The page’s goal is $50,000.