Sarnia council has decided not to pursue the legal battle over River City Vineyard's homeless shelter any further. With legal bills for the two sides totalling over $300,000, councillors voted unanimously Monday afternoon not to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
As councillor Matt Mitro explains, money played a huge factor in their decision.
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Pastor George Esser says it's a relief to put this all behind them.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/George-happy-behind.mp3"][/audio] The Ontario Court of Appeal, in a decision released July 3, overturned a lower court decision that had closed the Mitton St. homeless shelter. The court ruled the shelter does not contravene the city's zoning bylaw. The court of appeal still has to apportion costs in the protracted legal battle. Council turned down a settlement offer from the church to have the city assume $125,000 of its costs on top of the municipality's bill of more than $168,000. The city's outside legal counsel has made a submission to the court, arguing the taxpayer shouldn't be responsible for any of River City's costs.