SORE requested responses to these seven questions that from the candidates in the Niagara-on-the-Lake election.
- Do you think it possible to finalize a new Official Plan within the first year of the new Council’s term? What, in your view, should be the key elements of a new Official Plan that differ from the existing Official Plan?
- What is your ten-year vision for the communities that comprise NOTL (Glendale, Old Town, Queenston, St. David’s and Virgil) with respect to residential and commercial development?
- Is the current proposal for Randwood (the most recent revised plan submitted by the Marotta group) appropriate for this site and neighbourhood given its significant cultural heritage value and its location in an established residential neighbourhood? Why or why not?
- What consideration should be given, in your view, to the various matters specified in OPA51 (the Official Plan amendment in 2011 that permitted Randwood to be changed from residential to commercial for the Romance Inn) when deciding whether the Marotta group proposal should be approved?
- What would you do to ensure the preservation and sensitive use of other heritage buildings and lands within each of the communities that comprise NOTL?
- How will you ensure appropriate public input into planning decisions affecting high-profile sites such as Randwood (e.g. encouraging staff to accommodate delegations, location of Council and committee meetings on matters of great public interest such as Randwood)?
- Under what circumstances, if any, would you support the expansion of the current NOTL urban boundaries into agricultural land or the Greenbelt?