WINNIPEG -- The owner of a historic home in Winnipeg’s Crescentwood area has applied for a court order against the City of Winnipeg in order to allow the demolition of 514 Wellington Crescent.

The owner, numbered company 4319907 Canada, wants to quash the city’s decisions to nominate Crescentwood as a Heritage Conservation District and get back its demolition and building permits. The owner is looking to build a new 3,500 square foot, two-storey family home.

According to the application, the demolition had been scheduled for June 7, 2019, though a number of people in the community were opposed to it.

It says on June 6 at 10:46 p.m. the owner received an email that said the director of planning, property and development “declared a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) for the Crescentwood Neighbourhood,” and, consequently, demolition permits in the area were suspended.

On June 7, the contractor involved with the demolition was served a stop work order, and the owner received a copy of the nomination decision, as well as the conservation order.

The owner appealed these decisions and in September, CTV News Winnipeg reported the city’s property and planning committee voted a 2-2 split to reject the appeal, which means the nomination process continued.

The legal challenge says the nomination decision, conservation order and stop work order “were targeted actions” to stop the owner from being able to demolish the home; made in response to the objections of a small number of area residents; and was “intentionally secret and hurried” so the owner couldn’t exercise their rights.

The application goes on to say the standing policy committee that denied the appeal, “unreasonably and/or incorrectly failed to find” the nomination decision, conservation order and stop work order were “made in bad faith, arbitrarily, discriminatorily and/or on the basis of irrelevant factors” and “made contrary to the principles of natural justice and/or the duty of procedural fairness.”

A hearing on the application will be held on Nov. 1. 

- With files from Jason Gaidola.