Yellowknife (Feb 13/04) - Construction of a new hotel on Old Airport Road has been halted after a resident filed a last-minute appeal Monday.

Yellowknife resident Tasha Stephenson said she filed her last minute appeal of a development next to the hospital because the city didn't provide notice until almost too late.

The development permit, issued Jan. 26, lists the new project adjacent to Stanton Territorial Hospital as a future 81-room hotel with ground floor commercial space.

A path was cleared into the undeveloped lot last week, but because the project was contested on the very last day possible -- Feb. 9 -- the work may be postponed until an appeal board hearing is held.

Under territorial law, a hearing must be held within 30 days of an appeal.

The appellant, Tasha Stephenson, said she hasn't made up her mind up yet whether she will take her appeal all the way to a hearing.

She said she appealed because little notice was given that the development permit had been approved.

"I didn't have a choice about it because it was only advertised in the city newsletter on Friday and the deadline was Monday," she said.

"The city should know this is a hot topic considering the Extra Foods situation next door," she said. Controversy was generated when trees and rocks were blasted to make room for the mega-store last year.

Besides the destruction of green space around the hospital, she is concerned about increased traffic in the neighbourhood.

Mayor blasts process

Developer Mike Mrdjenovich could not be reached for comment, but Mayor Gord Van Tighem complained the appeal process in the territory is becoming much too onerous. He said anyone can halt a development if they do so within the prescribed appeal period of 14 days.

"It's almost parallel to the environmental assessment uncertainty that other developers run into," said Van Tighem adding the process is much more lenient in Alberta.

"If you have a compliant development and it gets appealed, that ties up men, equipment and material for a period of time when we've got a fairly short construction window as it is."

Stanton not concerned

He said he was told the latest development near the hospital is going to be geared more towards providing short-term residency for locum doctors, nurses, and families of patients staying at the hospital. The ground floor would be used for offices for general practitioners and dentists, he said.

Chuck Parker, chief executive officer of Stanton Territorial Hospital, said he was initially concerned about the new project because of a potential for increased traffic volume.

"When we learned about the development that was our primary concern," said Parker.

He said he met the developer, however, and was assured the new building would be complimentary to the hospital.

"We got a commitment from the developer that they would not pursue high-traffic businesses, drive-through restaurants and that kind of thing," said Parker.

The city is planning a major traffic study of the intersection at the hospital for this summer.