By Andrew de Souza

Board to consider Minto Apartment sale

Mar 30, 2011 | 12:25 PM

A decision in the Court of Queen’s Bench means Prince Albert’s Property Maintenance Appeal board will have to consider the sale of the downtown Minto Apartments.

In December, the board upheld a demolition order dating back to 2004 on the property and denied a potential sale by owner Larry Markwart to the Full Gospel Outreach.

The board said Markwark had missed a deadline imposed by Queen’s Bench, upheld the order, and refused to consider the sale at all.

That ruling was subsequently appealed by Markwart and on Tuesday, Madame Justice Rothery heard arguments from both Markwart and the city’s lawyer.

Peter Abrametz, Sr., who represented Markwart, said the board had not been fair in its decision.

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He said that even though the deadline was missed, the board still should have considered the merits of the sale before upholding the demolition order.

“The property maintenance appeal board didn’t even go into whether or not the sale was valid,” he said.

“This is tantamount to expropriation without compensation.”

Neil Fisher, who represented the city, said the sale didn’t need to be considered because at the end of the day, Markwart had missed the deadline by about four months.

“The fact of the matter is that Mr. Markwart was out of time,” he said.

“He has missed every deadline that has been imposed upon him and everything he has come to court and asked for relief of his obligation. Well, enough is enough.”

Both sides continued to argue their cases, but in the end came to a compromise.

They both agreed that the board should reopen to the file to consider the merits of the sale based on criteria first set out back in 2008 when the original hearing were held.

Justice Rothery agreed that it was in her jurisdiction to have the board consider the sale and ordered as such. However, she said that it was completely up to the board to make any decision it felt appropriate.

Those conditions, set in 2008, include showing the building is structurally sound and that it follows building codes.

The 2008 report also required that the building, under new management or ownership must comply with all federal and provincial laws, be in line with the “amenities of the neighbourhood,” and allow for the “quiet, peace, enjoyment, comfort and convenience of persons living in the neighbourhood and vicinity.”

Rothery’s order concluded that only documents already in the file could be considered and no more submissions of documents or testimony would be considered.

For Markwart, the ruling was a relief after years of legal fighting for the fate of the building.

“This is what the board, I think, should have done in the first place. They decided not to so now they have the direction to do what I was hoping they would have done before,” he said.

Exactly when the board will meet and reach a decision has not yet been decided.

adesouza@panow.com