But the area between West Ridge Drive and Fernbank Road remains nothing but an empty swamp as developers and the city pass around responsibility for developing the community space. Four years after construction started on the neighbourhood, the park hasn’t even begun to take shape.

 “Obviously residents are extremely frustrated,” said Ms. Ward. “I moved here in large part because of the park.”

Paul Skvor, vice-president of planning for Phoenix Homes, said the company bought the land from Stittsville resident Frank Argue, who already had a subdivision agreement with Ottawa. Mr. Skvor said they gave the city $152,000 as bond for building the park, unaware they wanted a soccer field – a request that included the extremely expensive process of removing peat and bringing in gravel to even out the field.

Now, the bill is estimated at $600,000 to make the sport feasible, money that neither Phoenix nor the city has. Instead, Mr. Skvor said the responsibility has been handed back to original owner Mr. Argue.

Stittsville-Kanata West councillor Shad Qadri said he believes a group of landowners are working together to make the park a reality, but was not sure who was all involved.

Mr. Argue said he is not part of the association and is not aware of any obligation he has to help complete the project, which he also said did not include a soccer field originally. He plans to attend a meeting with the city and Phoenix on November 21, but said it is still up to the housing developer to make the soccer field.

“It’s in Phoenix’s contract to do it,” he explained. “I haven’t been told they will not do it.”

“The unfortunate thing is that the city decided to locate a soccer field in the middle of the marsh,” said Mr. Skvor. “The $152,000 the city has is a calculated amount of our obligation, we’re ready any day to throw that in and build the park.”

Councillor Qadri began working with city staff and the builders to negotiate a resolution after the park construction deadline came and went.

“Either the city didn’t see the impact, or the developer feels they’re being treated unfairly,” said councillor Qadri about the impasse.

“(Phoenix) said we can’t afford to build it, we just can’t do it,” said Patrick Publow, who moved to Deer Run last September with his two children. “It seems clear they have no intention of doing it.”

The councillor hosted a community meeting last spring with Phoenix and the residents, and suggested legal action would be taken if nothing progressed.

Both Phoenix and the homeowners were happy with that option, but Mr. Qadri was told later it would lengthen the process by about two years – an unacceptable amount of time to make the neighbourhood wait.

“To me as a representative for the community, it’s better to solve this out of court,” he said. “The process has not failed yet.”

“The city’s efficiency fell apart,” Mr. Publow disagreed. “A lot of nothing happened.”

Councillor Qadri originally set last September 22 as a deadline for the developer to act, but several things came up to adjust the timeline, which outraged many residents.

Mr. Skvor said he worked on bringing in rock from other Deer Run developments to begin settling the field, but was forced to stop when city staff said the fill was contaminated.

“We are good for the $152,000,” he assured. “We’ve fulfilled all of what we thought was our responsibility under the agreement.”

Mr. Argue said if Phoenix refuses to build the park and passes the responsibility back to him – since he negotiated the subdivision agreement with the city – he will sue the company.

All of the parties will meet on November 21 to discuss what to do next; the councillor said he will bring a report to the community at a public meeting on Tuesday, November 25.

 A COMMUNITY WAITS

Mr. Publow has rallied a group of residents in Deer Run who are pressuring the councillor and developer to move faster. He is frustrated by the lack of communication and apparent progress.

“The wheels of government work very slowly,” he said. “We’re badgering our councillor as much as humanly possible.”

“The city process does take a long time to move forward, but it’s moving forward at a workable pace,” said Mr. Qadri.

Mr. Publow suggested the city either deny Phoenix any other building permits until the Stittsville community is finished, or seize the funds they were given.

“The bond the city holds is our best option,” he said, adding that Ottawa could use the money to build the park and then sue Phoenix for the rest.

Councillor Qadri said refusing permits is not an avenue the city can take, according to their legal staff. He added that the city holds $650,000 of company dollars in bond right now, but most of it is dedicated to sidewalks and other road construction in Deer Run. He said while the undone park is definitely an inconvenience for many residents, an unfinished road will hurt the entire community.

Meanwhile, a smaller park farther north on West Ridge is becoming more crowded with children wanting to play outside. While it is an option for area residents, it’s smaller and further away than most prefer.

“I wouldn’t walk there with my five-year-old,” said Mr. Publow, who lives on Landswood Way. “It would be nice just to have a large open space to fly a kite or toss a ball around.”

The father of two said he has tried to stay positive, but has not been impressed with the councillor’s help.

“He’s undertaking no action proactively himself,” he said. “I’m definitely unhappy with his performance of late.”

Ms. Ward said she believes the councillor must be kept as an ally and not another enemy in their battle for a community park.

“There has to be a voice of reason,” she said. “Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be. It’s a very passionate subject when people are talking about their kids and their community.”

Mr. Skvor said he plans to contact the group of homeowners to clear up the miscommunication about Phoenix’s role, and added he believes Mr. Argue wants to start construction on the park this winter in time for community use in the spring.

“I respect their frustration,” said councillor Qadri about the residents. “I don’t care who builds the park. . .I hope it gets done as soon as possible.”