SORE is pleased to report that it has received the decision of Madame Justice Donahue of the Ontario Superior Court following yesterday’s proceeding in St. Catharines.
SORE has been granted full party status to intervene in the court challenge brought by Benny Marotta’s companies of your elected Council’s decision to designate the Rand Estate under the Heritage Act. The Marotta group lawyers fought very hard, for reasons they never fully explained to the court, to keep SORE out of the case.
Madame Justice Donahue concluded in her decision that:
- SORE would be adversely affected should the Marotta group be successful in quashing Council’s designation decision, and
- she was satisfied that SORE would make a useful contribution to the case.
Costs will be awarded to SORE from the Marotta group for its successful result in this motion.
The Marotta group’s application to overturn Council’s decision will be heard in the last week of June in St. Catharines. We will be looking to pack the courtroom again.
This is now the second legal proceeding launched by the Marotta group where SORE has sought, and received, party status over the objections of Benny Marotta’s lawyers. The next one will be their appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal of Council’s non-decision on their zoning by-law application for the proposed convention centre/hotel. That will be heard May 9, 2019 at the NOTL Community Centre. SORE will be looking for full attendance at that prehearing conference. And a reminder if you have not yet done so to write to the LPAT case co-ordinator to advise of your support for SORE and its application for party status before LPAT (see our web posting and last email for more information).
Thank you for your continued support.