Reminder re public meeting July 14
Residents and interested parties are reminded of the upcoming Public Meeting concerning the Marotta Rand subdivision proposal on Wednesday, July 14 at 5 pm. The Public Meeting will be live-streamed.
Updates
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Parties file expert reports in Marotta CRB challenge
The Marotta companies, the Town and SORE have all now filed their expert reports for the upcoming Conservation Review Board hearing beginning on July 19. As a reminder, the Marotta companies are asking the CRB to advise on the merits of the Town’s August 2018 Notices of Intent to Designate 200 John and 588 Charlotte (the back half of the Rand Estate) under the Heritage Act.
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Marotta subdivision would be two or three times as dense as most adjacent neighbourhoods
The SORE core team has undertaken a comparison of the density of the proposed Marotta Rand Estate subdivision with the closest neighbourhoods to the Estate. Provided are both "Gross" and "Net" density graphs illustrating the comparison.
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SORE comments on June 15 Open House
SORE thanks the almost 200 households that signed up for the June 15 Open House and the 30 or so people who asked questions. The evening illustrated the extreme challenges of conducting public consultations by video.
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Final reminder to register for tomorrow evening’s open house
SORE reminds all interested parties to register if you wish to electronically attend tomorrow's open house concerning the Marotta Rand subdivision proposal starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
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June 15 Open House details from Town
SORE has received additional information from the Town planner handling the Tuesday Open House starting at 5 p.m. We pass it along verbatim for your information.
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You must register to watch the online June 15 Open House about Marotta subdivision
SORE reminds supporters and all concerned stakeholders of the Open House next Tuesday June 15 beginning at 5 p.m. You must register in advance to attend the electronic Open House before noon June 15.
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Reminder on upcoming open house re Randwood subdivision application
SORE reminds all residents about the upcoming public open house concerning the Marotta group subdivision application. The open house will unfortunately be electronic only and will start at 5 pm on Tuesday June 15. You must register in advance to watch and if desired participate.
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Share your historical photos of Rand Estate
Save Our Rand Estate (SORE) is inviting community members to share their personal historical photographs and other archival information of and for the Rand Estate, also known as Randwood, located at the corner of John and Charlotte streets in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We are particularly interested in photos of Randwood taken either on the estate or from the surrounding streets and trails, and in particular, photographs taken before the 1980s.
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Additional information on Marotta Subdivision application and Town process
We have prepared and present an aerial depiction of the subdivision proposed by the Marotta Group for the Rand Estate. This is truly one of those cases where a picture tells a thousand words. The Marotta application proposes to festoon virtually every square foot of 200 John and 588 Charlotte Streets with houses.
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Marotta Group subdivision applications for Rand Estate released
The Town has published a Notice of Complete Application for the subdivision proposed by the Marotta Group for the back half of the Rand Estate. There will no longer be a LPAT hearing in July on whether the application is complete. The Town has now accepted the application as complete with the filing of a report the Town had requested.
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Town triumphs in another developer lawsuit
SORE is pleased to report on a decision last week of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice of relevance to both the Rand Estate and to heritage protection in NOTL.
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Update on Rand Estate sale and CRB hearing
Two updates: Benny Marotta's companies have pulled the for sale signs on 144/176 John St (the site of the historic Rand house and gardens and half of the former Rand Estate). The Conservation Review Board has now scheduled a hearing for four days starting Monday, July 19.
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Marotta abandons Rand heritage court challenge
The Marotta group has abandoned its court challenge of the legality of the Town's heritage designation bylaws for the Rand Estate. The Marotta group paid the Town and SORE a combined $170,000 in costs in order to walk away from the appeal.
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NOTL Receives Prestigious Heritage Award
SORE is very pleased to note that the Town has received the prestigious Prince of Wales Prize for 2020 from the National Trust for Canada.
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Rand Estate latest moves by Benny Marotta
In a series of developments over the last few days, the Marotta group has (1) Withdrawn their appeals to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) of the Town's "non-decision" on their hotel/convention centre application; (2) Withdrawn their appeals to the Conservation Review Board (CRB) of the previous Council's notices of intention to designate 144 and 176 John Street East under the Ontario Heritage Act in August of 2018; and (3) Put a for sale sign on 144/176 John Street.
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On Sept. 8, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) adjourned the proceedings until April 2021, to allow the subdivision application recently filed with the Town to be appealed to LPAT and consolidated with the Marotta hotel/convention centre application.
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Marotta Group zoning appeal to LPAT – important meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8
Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) have given notice of a Case Management Conference (CMC) for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 AT 10 AM by video, not in person.
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SORE and Town File Materials with Court of Appeal
The lawyers for both SORE and the Town recently filed their responding factums with the Court of Appeal in the Marotta group's ongoing effort to overturn the previous Council's decision to initiate the heritage designation process of the Rand Estate in August of 2018.
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Update re Marotta Group legal proceedings
The Conservation Review Board (CRB) has now set hearing dates in December 2020 on the Marotta group request for a review by that tribunal of the Town's decision in August of 2018 to initiate the designation of the Rand Estate under the Ontario Heritage Act.
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Superior Court issues cost award in Marotta heritage designation challenge
Superior Court has recently issued a cost award to both the Town and SORE for the Marotta group's recent unsuccessful challenge of the Town's August 2018 Notices of Intent to Designate the Rand Estate under the Heritage Act.
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The Conservation Review Board has determined that SORE’s post of March 19, 2020 concerning the Rand Estate violated the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Conservation Review Board by publishing information and materials that was confidential.
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Marotta group produces new hotel picture
The Marotta group has hired an architect to produce a new picture of their proposed hotel/convention centre. Much was made of this rendering in a recent letter to the editor by Mr. Marotta's lawyer. At this point, however, all we and the Town have are pictures. No detail.
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The court application by the Marotta companies to overturn your elected Council's decision to proceed with designation of the Rand Estate under the Ontario Heritage Act has been completely rejected. In a decision by the Ontario Superior Court, Madame Justice Walters found against the Marotta group on every ground and dismissed their application with costs payable to both the Town and to SORE.