• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

S O R E

  • About
  • Updates
  • Hotel Proposal
  • Subdivision Proposal
  • Benny Marotta Media Archive
  • How You Can Help
You are here: Home / Updates / Marotta clear-cutting Rand Estate and destroying protected landscape

Marotta clear-cutting Rand Estate and destroying protected landscape

Article posted on November 12, 2018

Rear of the Rand Estate (588 Charlotte) November 12, 2018
After: Rear of the Rand Estate (588 Charlotte) seen in a photo taken from a drone on November 12, 2018.
Rear of the Rand Estate (588 Charlotte) November 1, 2018
Before: Rear of the Rand Estate (588 Charlotte) seen in a photo taken from a drone on Sept. 3, 2018, or earlier.

Benny Marotta has confirmed SORE’s worst fears.

Over the last week Marotta has supervised the virtual clear-cutting of one of the four Rand Estate properties, after misleadingly advising the Town he had a permit to do so from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). In spite of demonstrations and pleas from residents and our incoming Council for him to stop. This is apparently how Mr. Marotta intends to “make NOTL more beautiful”.

More shocking still, SORE now has clear drone surveillance ev‎idence that portions of the nationally significant Dunington-Grubb designed landscape on 200 John St have been illegally eradicated by Marotta’s crews since it was designated as a heritage resource by the outgoing NOTL Council.

Marotta’s actions were, regrettably, entirely predictable. See the Benny Marotta media archive on the SORE website to understand who and what we are dealing with.

SORE expects the Town and our incoming Council, together with the Region and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, to step up and force Marotta to stop his ongoing destruction of what remains of the Rand Estate. The Town voted earlier this year to accord heritage protection to the entire Rand Estate. This protection is meaningless if the Town isn’t closely controlling anything and everything that now happens at Randwood. The fact that Marotta has been able to destroy a significant heritag‎e asset under the nose of the Town is shocking.

SORE calls on Town staff to immediately initiate a prosecution of Benny Marotta and Two Sisters for illegal destruction of the protected Dunington-Grubb landscape on 200 John. If the Town does not do so, SORE will engage lawyers to initiate a private prosecution and seek a restoration order under the Heritage Act. SORE further demands that the Town require a heritage permit application before ANY additional work of any sort at the Rand Estate.

SORE also calls on the NPCA to just do its job. One would have thought the election results and the recent Auditor-General’s report on the NPCA might have made NPCA management uncomfortable turning a blind eye to enforcing their mandate. So far this is not the case. We demand better. See the attached letter sent on Friday to the NPCA by SORE’s lawyer.

Mr. Marotta seems to want to remind us he’s not going away. Neither are we. Mr. Marotta your day is coming.

201811091330
SORE lawyer letter to NCPA Nov 9 2018

View all updates from SORE

View 2021 subdivision application documents

Footer

Latest posts by SORE

  • Important update on Marotta Subdivision proposal
  • SORE comments on Town’s Marotta Rand prosecution decision
  • Ontario Land Tribunal Case Management Conference (CMC) Postponed
  •  Solmar Rand Heritage Act prosecution
  • SORE Letter to Council and OLT Update
  • How the Lord Mayor candidates answered SORE
  • NOTL candidates provide responses to SORE survey

On SORE website

  • Updates
  • 2022 municipal election
  • How You Can Help
  • Benny Marotta the Developer- Media Archive
  • History of Randwood Estate
  • 2021 Rand Subdivision proposal documents
  • 2018 Hotel Proposal Documents
  • 2018 Hotel Proposal Media Coverage
  • 2018 Hotel Proposal Process
  • December 2019 SORE Update

Contact SORE

Email us with questions, interest and support at  [email protected]

Sign up for SORE updates

Sign up to receive email updates from SORE. *Name and email required

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your email signup to SORE.

The Save Our Rand Estate (SORE) website has been developed by SORE Association, a group of concerned local citizens in Niagara on the Lake, with information we believe to be accurate.

Please contact SORE Association with any questions or concerns. | We respect your privacy

Website hosting by Inspiring Media Inc.