The city’s injunction application to block further attempts by CP Rail to reactivate its rail line along the Arbutus Corridor was heard by a B.C. Supreme judge this week.
If granted, the injunction would halt further construction, demolition and clearing of gardens along the 11-kilometre stretch.
The civil claim was filed in October after talks between the two parties about the sale of the land broke down. The city offered to buy it for no more than $20 million, with a promise to preserve it as greenway or to use it as a transportation corridor. CP however, claimed the line through Vancouver’s West Side is worth $100 million due to its growth potential. The city has rezoned the land to restrict any further commercial or residential development.
After negotiations came to a standstill in the fall, residents living along the corridor became infuriated when the rail company started bulldozing roughly 150 metres of their gardens. In November, CP agreed to pause work on the corridor while legal proceedings were underway this month.
In an earlier press release, Mayor Gregor Robertson said: “CP’s attempts to clear the corridor are nothing more than a negotiating tactic. The city will not react to this by spending millions of dollars based on flawed appraisals that do not reflect the permitted land use on the corridor. That would be irresponsible for taxpayers and we will not allow that.”
CP’s plan to get the line up and running again could be for storage purposes. , CP filed affidavits in November indicating it now plans to use the corridor to store “intermodal” railway cars. Because the case is before the courts, CP declined to confirm its plans. Joe Arvay, the city’s lawyer, argued that by abandoning the use of the tracks in 2001, the company has no statutory authority under the Canada Transportation Act to do so.
The injunction hearing will continue next Wednesday and Thursday.
