The DWBIA is filing complaints against the City of Windsor today against the decision to replace retail space with parking spaces at the Pelissier St. Parking Garage.
The DWBIA says the decision was made in an in-camera meeting contrary to the Ontario Municipal Act so they are filing a complaint with the Ontario Ombudsman. They are also filing an application to quash the decision that was made in the in-camera meeting.
DWBIA Chair Larry Horwitz says the original decision was made in a public session and a reconsideration motion should have been done in the same manner.
Without proper reconsideration they flipped a vote of council that has happened twice already so in our mind they broke their own rules," says Horwitz.
City Council made the decision to replace the retail space during an in-camera meeting on November 7 when they turned down the only applicant that came forward to rent the space.
"When the discussion morphs into a formal decision to convert an area from commercial to parking spaces then that should have been brought by the chair into open session," says lawyer for the DWBIA Jeffrey Aitkens.
The City of Windsor has called a special meeting of council on November 28 to address the issue.