City hall property decision upsets N. London group

By JOE BELANGER, Free Press City Hall Reporter

02/10/2005

A north London neighbourhood group is up in arms over a property decision at city hall it says one councillor should not have had a vote on.

Coun. Cheryl Miller was one of three real estate agents hired to sell a Huron Street property that sold in February.

Miller voted Sept. 12 at city council's planning committee and a week later at council not to appeal zoning changes to sever the property into three lots.

"How can we get a fair hearing at planning committee?" asked Alex Arthur of the Broughdale Community Association.

In a recent interview, Miller said there was no conflict -- some councillors and a municipal expert agree -- and threatened legal action against anyone who accuses her of breaking conflict-of-interest laws.

"If I had a conflict, I would have declared it," she said. "The (real estate) deal was done six months ago."

Miller, who chairs council's planning committee, said she always supports so-called infill projects, in which unused or under-used property in older areas are developed.

Miller, her brother, John Goodwin, and son, Adam Miller, work as a team for Royal LePage Triland Realty.

The property was listed for $239,900 and advertised as having potential to be severed into three lots.

Under Ontario law, local politicians must declare a conflict if they have a direct or indirect pecuniary benefit.

"She's done with the property" and no longer had an interest when the issue went before council, said Greg Levine, a lawyer at the University of Western Ontario who specializes in conflict-of-interest law.

It may appear to be a conflict, "but appearances haven't made their way into Ontario law," he said.

The provincial law "isn't broad enough and it's very difficult to enforce because it relies on electors" to appeal to a judge, he said. "Who's got money to do that?"

Arthur said he won't ask a judge to rule whether there's a conflict of interest. "It will be the court of public opinion and up to the public to decide if she has a conflict," he said.

Coun. Roger Caranci, who sided with Miller on the issue at council, defended her.

"If somebody's saying she's got a conflict, then instead of running to the media, they should do it in the proper way and go to a judge," he said. "Doing it this way just ruins a person's reputation."

But Coun. Joni Baechler, former planning committee chairperson, said she's had more than a dozen calls, including from real estate agents, expressing concern.

"It's hers to determine if she has a conflict," Baechler said. "Would I have declared a conflict? Yes."

At the Sept. 12 planning committee meeting, Miller, Controller Bud Polhill and councillors Caranci and David Winninger recommended staff not appeal.

Last week, council rejected the recommendation 14-4 and instructed staff to continue the appeal, with Miller, Caranci, Polhill and Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen opposed.

Gloria McGinn-McTeer, past chairperson of the Urban League of London, often acts as a citizen watchdog for conflicts of interest on council.

"Technically, perhaps, she doesn't have a conflict," McTeer said.

But she believes Miller's vote is opposed to the spirit of the city's zoning and special official plan policies intended to limit development in student housing areas near UWO.

"It's not a standard of conduct we would expect from our elected officials."