This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (Trial Division).

Ms. Allen applied for summary judgment and requested the Court to stop the Town of Conception Bay South from enforcing a land-use regulation that, according to her, conflicted with the Town’s municipal plan.

Ms. Allen had begun to build a house on property that had been approved for development, but after being warned by the Town to make sure that the house was at least fifteen metres away from the stream that ran through the property, Ms. Allen laid the foundation too close to the stream. The Town issued a stop work order, then informed Ms. Allen that she could continue to build if she secured approval from the provincial Department of Environment and Lands and the federal Department of Fisheries. Ms. Allen secured the approvals, but the Town then informed her that its land-use regulations barred it from allowing her to proceed.

When the matter came before the Court, the Court held that the relevant provision of the Town’s land-use regulations was invalid because it conflicted not only with the Town’s municipal plan but also with the provincial Urban and Rural Planning Act. The Court therefore held that Ms. Allen’s construction should be allowed to proceed.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/nl/nlsctd/doc/2002/2002canlii45645/2002canlii45645.html

Disclaimer:
Case briefs in our Resource Library are drafted by law students who work or volunteer with East Coast Environmental Law, and East Coast Environmental Law does not guarantee their fullness or accuracy. Library users should not rely on case briefs as comprehensive accounts of the issues, facts, reasoning, or outcomes at stake in any given case. 

If you require more detailed information about a court decision or legal issue, please consider using our Environmental Law Inquiry Service to request information from our staff.