The proponents behind a 30-bed recovery centre that was at the centre of a legal dispute between residents and the city of Prince George are breathing a sigh of relief.
On Wednesday, the B.C. Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the neighbours of the 5877 Leslie Rd. site for the Northern Supportive Recovery Centre for Women, claiming city council's approval was invalid because it was inconsistent with the city's official community plan.
"We are pleased that we will be able to proceed with our project of developing a northern recovery centre for women in the north," said centre spokesperson Dr. Michelle Sutter. "It will allow us to do the right thing for getting women of the north the help they need."
During the nearly year-long process after the legal action was filed, Sutter said plans for the former Haldi Road elementary school have been "in a little bit of a holding pattern, waiting to see what the ultimate decision was and to see how we would be able to proceed."
Some renovations to the former school were completed, but more still need to be done, Sutter said, before the building is ready for residents.
Communication between the centre's board and the neighbours was non-existent since council made their 8-1 decision back in early February 2013. But Sutter said the group is hoping to re-establish dialogue to allow area residents the ability to be "as engaged as they choose to be."
"We are aware that in the past we had not communicated as well as we thought we had and prior to the zoning we took steps to try and change that and we're quite keen to be able to proceed in communicating with them," she said.
