SORE is providing the following clarification on a zoning application it wishes to bring with respect to 144/176 John St E in light of recent social media posts by Councillor Wiens.
SORE approached the Town months ago with an intended rezoning application for these properties. The intent of the application is simple.
SORE reminds our many followers and supporters about the Public Meeting tonight in front of Council to listen to comments and concerns about the latest Benny Marotta effort to plow a subdivision street up the 200 John St panhandle. The meeting starts at 6 pm in the Council chambers in Virgil. The Marotta application is … Read more
At the Sept. 2 Open House, Mr. Marotta’s planner confirmed that this was all about asking Council to approve a panhandle subdivision street that Council already turned down in April of 2023 and that was definitively turned down by the Ontario Land Tribunal last October after a 7-week hearing.
Further to yesterday’s post on the latest attempt by Benny Marotta to carve streets into the Rand Estate, here are the details to sit in (electronically) to next Tuesday’s Open House as well as in person (or electronically) at the Public Meeting in front of Council on Tuesday September 9. Open House Is at 5 … Read more
SORE has learned that Benny Marotta is back again with another hard to believe application to the Town. In OPA 06-25, Mr. Marotta’s company Solmar is seeking to have the Town approve a new subdivision street up the 200 John Street panhandle that the Ontario Land Tribunal explicitly and firmly rejected last October after a 7 week hearing. Solmar is also seeking approval for an access where 588 Charlotte meets John Street at the Heritage Trail.
Benny Marotta withdrew entirely from the Ontario Land Tribunal proceedings on his proposed Rand subdivision after the OLT ruled against his company and sent him back to the drawing board to work with the Town and SORE on an acceptable approach. Mr. Marotta has though, for the time being, continued his judicial review application seeking to overturn the OLT decision.
We are providing this press release as a courtesy to a new fellow residents’ association. The newly formed and Incorporated Niagara on the Lake Residents Association will hold its first Open House meeting on Wednesday, May 14, at the Community Centre, 14 Anderson Lane, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has this week issued a final order dismissing the Marotta/Solmar applications for a high density subdivision on the back half of the Rand Estate. As our supporters will recall, Mr. Marotta’s company Solmar applied for permission to build almost 200 houses on the historic Rand Estate. The subdivision would have … Read more
SORE has been laser-focused on advocating for responsible development of the Rand Estate in Niagara on the Lake, especially in terms of recognizing and protecting its heritage characteristics. However, we want to give a shoutout about what’s underway for another large historic parcel in town – The Niagara Foundation completed acquisition of The Wilderness property in December and has an extensive process to shape what happens with the property.
The Ontario Land Tribunal on Jan. 28 2025 DENIED in its entirely the review request filed by the Marotta’s Solmar company of the OLT decision that rejected the Rand Estate subdivision application filed on the basis that it did not represent good planning.
Benny Marotta this week has filed appeals of the recent Ontario Land Tribunal Rand subdivision decision to both the courts and the OLT. SORE’s report on the OLT decision in question can be found on sorenotl.ca The OLT decision was the result of a multi-week hearing during which the Tribunal heard from over 20 witnesses … Read more
The Ontario Land Tribunal decision on the proposed Marotta Rand Estate subdivision is a complete win for SORE and for the Town. Our supporters will recall that the Marotta company took the matter out of the hands of Council and appealed directly to the OLT.
The parties to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) case brought by Benny Marotta’s company Solmar filed written submissions to the Tribunal at the conclusion of the evidentiary phase of the hearing. The full text of the four written submissions are on the sorenotl.ca site.
A reminder that after a break of several weeks, the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) panel hearing the appeal by Benny Marotta’s company of his request to build a 200+ unit subdivision on the back half of the Rand Estate will resume hearing evidence tomorrow at 10 a.m.
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) panel hearing the appeal by Benny Marotta on his proposed Rand Estate subdivision has adjourned as planned until late July.
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has agreed to broadcast the hearing starting next Tuesday, April 9, at 10 am on its YouTube channel.
We thought it timely to provide an update on the upcoming OLT hearing on the proposed Marotta subdivision. In our last update, we noted that Council had reversed part of its December 15 resolution and decided to not make available a portion of the Heritage Trail for an access to Mr. Marotta’s proposed Rand Estate … Read more
Urban Strategies delivered a draft report to the Town in early December. That report fulfilled the requirement in the new but not yet in force Town Official Plan to do a character area study of the area including the Rand Estate before any land use planning decisions are made on the subject lands.
Solmar, one of the Benny Marotta companies, has filed an “updated” application for the highly controversial subdivision proposal for the back half of the Rand Estate.
On Wednesday, Jan. 17, the Town released a statement concerning the Marotta Rand Estate subdivision application and the now-withdrawn concept of using a portion of the Town-owned Heritage Trail for access. That statement can be found on the Town of NOTL website.
In a letter dated January 8, 2024, the lawyers for the Marotta company seeking approval for a subdivison on the Rand Estate have formally requested that the Town grant their client a “permanent easement” over the Town-owned Heritage Trail to enable access to the proposed subdivision. A copy of that letter can be found … Read more
After a lengthy in-camera meeting yesterday, Council emerged to pass a very important resolution concerning the proposed Marotta Rand Estate subdivision on 200 John and 588 Charlotte (the back half of Randwood). The purpose of the resolution was to set out the Town’s position and instructions to its lawyer ahead of the Ontario Land Tribunal … Read more
SORE is pleased to report that Council recently received an important draft report of Urban Strategies Inc and GBCA Architects concerning the Rand Estate and the John Street East Character Area. The report, a “Character Area Study” is required by the Town’s new Official Plan. It was commissioned in 2022 and recently completed and delivered … Read more
SORE reminds its supporters and stakeholders that the Ontario Land Tribunal will be holding a case management conference tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 10) morning at 10 am on the proposed Marotta Rand Estate subdivision. The access details are below. https://meet.goto.com/996288525 Access code: 996-288-525 We expect this CMC to be largely procedural however there may be matters … Read more