Yellowknife (Mar 29/04) - A city developer says landscaping complaints about his new hotel project are premature and unfair.

Last week, landscape architect Karen Hamre and Coun. Kevin O'Reilly blasted City Hall's handling of the project, an 80-room hotel complex being built by Nova Builders beside Stanton Hospital.

Mike Mrdjenovich says the four-storey hotel will have trees on two sides and will be "beautiful and tasteful."

Nova owner Mike Mrdjenovich said critics should come to him before voicing concerns.

"It will be a nice looking development," he said Friday. "Nobody is asking me about the development; they are just complaining.

"This is a construction site. We'll be levelling the area."

Hamre said the city tossed aside recommendations she made in a Jan. 8 report commissioned by the city.

She advised against rock rubble slopes because they are ugly, difficult to grow plants on, and potentially dangerous to anyone who tries walking on them.

Hamre was also recently appointed to the city's development appeal board.

Her report concludes that there are ways to mitigate these problems, such as reducing the slope height, adding contours, and flat spaces to grow plants, but Hamre said it doesn't appear the new development next to Stanton is going along with any of them.

"I don't think the recommendations were followed because in the end, it's a big rock wall."

The matter was raised by O'Reilly at council's regular meeting last Monday.

"It looks like a pile of rubble," said O'Reilly.

"The city should be ashamed of that kind of development. I thought there was still going to be some trees left out front. I watched the one last tree get covered by rocks over the course of the weekend."

The city's own zoning bylaw states: "The landscape shall be preserved in its natural state, insofar practical, by minimizing tree and soil removal and any grade changes shall be in keeping with the general appearance of neighbouring developed areas."

With several recent developments in mind, it appears that section of the bylaw is little more than added lip service, O'Reilly said.

He also questioned the city's handling of the sale of the land. He said the city sold the land to Nova during an in-camera meeting while he was out of town last August.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said, however, the builder should be given the chance to finish the project before it is vilified.

"I met with the developer earlier in the week, and he waxed long about the amount of dirt he had ordered, and the areas he had set aside for trees and landscaping," said Van Tighem.

"He was really hoping it would become a showpiece."

As for selling the land, Van Tighem said the decision was made during a public meeting held June 5, 2001; one which O'Reilly attended and where he voted against the proposal.

The only thing that was decided in-camera last August, said Van Tighem, was what price the city should seek for the land.

He said public disclosure of that amount would've compromised their negotiating position with potential buyers.

Regardless, Van Tighem said he is confident the hotel and its surroundings will look fine once complete.

"It's a work in progress," said Van Tighem.

"It's going to look different in a week, it's going to look different in a month, and when it's finished it's going to look even more different."

Hamre said it may be possible to add soil and greenery to the site, but it will be difficult to maintain.

"If they try to put some sod there it's just going wash down through the rocks. It'll take some long-term, ongoing maintenance."

The project will not be complete until the end of the year and proper landscaping is planned for the area, says developer Mike Mrdjenovich.

"We'll be bringing in black soil to cover the area and we'll plant mature birch and evergreen trees."

He said there will not be a rock wall on site: "it's not deep enough."

When complete, Mrdjenovich said the T-shaped, four-storey hotel will have the trees on two sides and will be "beautiful and tasteful."