The grassroots group fighting the planned location of the new Windsor-Essex acute care hospital is asking for help to fund their appeal.
CAMPP (Citizens for an Accountable Mega-hospital Planning Process) has set up a GoFundMe page, and they are asking for contributions for what is expected to be a tough and expensive legal fight. The group is asking for $100,000, half of that, by the end of March.
The planned hospital is set to go up on a section of County Road 42 near Windsor Airport.
The zoning was approved by Windsor City Council last summer, but opponents of the location are appealing. CAMPP has retained lawyer Erik K. Gillespie to handle the legal manoeuvring, and have brought on the respected urban planner Jennifer Keesmaat as an expert witness.
"Given the legitimacy of the concerns raised by the public, the duty to consider, address, and engage concerns regarding the planning process, the planning rationale, mobility, access, and equity are insufficiently met to satisfy even the most basic interpretations of the expectations from community engagement," said Keesmaat.
While CAMPP acknowledges that a new hospital is needed, they are opposed to the location, claiming that it is too far away from many in Windsor's vulnerable population and that all it will do is encourage continued urban sprawl near the airport.
They also believe city councillors based their decision on flawed and outdated data.
Supporters of the plan, including Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj, have urged CAMPP to stop fighting the process and be willing to work with them to iron out their concerns.
The page has been live since February 2.
As of Friday morning, it has collected over $15,400.