Our supporters will recall that the Marotta group withdrew their zoning appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) last year and then refiled an identical appeal following amendments to the Planning Act.
It is regrettable that the Act did not expressly prevent this, as both the Town and SORE were ready to proceed to a hearing under the previous legislation and we believe the Marotta appeal would have failed.
LPAT has now given notice of a Case Management Conference (CMC) for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 AT 10 AM. The CMC will be by video, not in person.
Over 200 of you attended the last CMC by LPAT for the Marotta group’s previous zoning appeal. We welcome and encourage your attendance (by video link) at next Tuesday’s CMC.
How to access video meeting
For those having difficulty accessing the LPAT dial in this am, you can dial in by telephone.
The dial in is 1 888 299 1889.
There is a new access code 644 598 029
the audio PIN is 409.
apologies for all the technology confusion!
To access the video link:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/644598029
Access code: 644 598 029
Parties to this hearing are entitled to file evidence and cross-examine the Marotta group witnesses. The Town is a Party and SORE will seek Party status.
Residents who wish may request “Participant” status from LPAT at next Tuesday’s CMC. That will allow you to file written submissions with LPAT about the appeal.
If you do not wish to have Participant status but merely observe the hearing, when scheduled, no action is necessary on your part. SORE will provide notice of the hearing dates as well as any other proceedings on the SORE website and through our email blast system. Make sure you are registered with SORE to continue to receive our updates. Contact us at [email protected].
LPAT, like the courts, is adapting to the use of virtual proceedings. One thing we have learned is that it is important that you use the “mute” function during the proceedings. This substantially reduces background noise and allows us all to hear the proceeding more clearly.
It has been a long road to get to this point. SORE continues to believe that the Marotta hotel/convention centre facility is wildly inappropriate for the historic Rand Estate. We are hopeful LPAT will agree.
We also look forward to the Conservation Review Board hearing scheduled for December which will hear the Marotta group’s appeal of the Town’s decision to proceed with designation of the Rand Estate under the Heritage Act in August of 2018. The Court of Appeal will also be hearing the Marotta group’s appeal of the Superior Court decision that soundly rejected every aspect of the Marotta group’s legal challenge to the Town’s heritage designation notices.
As always, we thank you for your continued support and encouragement. This is about the future of the NOTL we know and love.