The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is saying that the work that happened to move soil from the construction site of the future Parliament Oak hotel to the site where Glencairn Hall used to stand took place without the required permission.
Early last month, trucks full of dirt from the grounds of 325 King St. could be seen driving down to 14795 Niagara River Pwky., where the historic Glencairn Hall stood before it burned down in April.
Crews began work at 325 King St. in preparation to build what’s set to be a luxury hotel where the former Parliament Oak Public School stood. This work includes removing soil from the ground and other construction-related activities.
The Town of NOTL says it did not approve the dumping of soil at the Glencairn Hall site. However, the town did not say by press time whether it issued any punishment for this breach.
“To remove or deposit fill, you need approval through a building permit, site plan agreement or site alteration permit,” said Marah Minor, the town’s communications co-ordinator.
“A site alteration permit is required to remove or deposit fill on a property. The property owner would need to authorize this activity in order to apply for the permit.”
A permit allowing site for site alterations at 14795 Niagara River Pwky. “has not been issued,” said Minor.
Gary Wheeler, communications co-ordinator for the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, said the ministry has “not been contacted about this specific situation” but that “staff are following up to obtain information from the owners of both sites to determine if action is required.”
Wheeler said soil dumps are allowed if they meet certain standards.
“Excess soil may be deposited at a reuse site provided it is for a beneficial reuse, the quality of the soil meets the excess soil standards for the reuse site and it is deposited in accordance with the soil rules,” he said.
When the ministry becomes aware of a complaint related to what it calls “excess soil management,” it gathers information about what’s going on, works with municipalities and follows the ministry’s compliance policy “to determine what action is required to protect the environment and comply with the legislation,” he said.
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority said the Parliament Oak site is outside its jurisdiction, while part of the Glencairn Hall property lies within it. However, the type of activity involved in this case would not fall under its authority.
“In this particular instance, this type of fill removal and transfer to another site is the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and Town of NOTL,” said Jennifer McQuillan, communications and marketing specialist for the authority.
“It is our understanding that town staff are aware of the activity.”
Niagara Regional Police, in response to The Lake Report’s inquiry, said the incident falls outside its responsibilities.
Two Sisters Resort Corp., owned by developer Benny Marotta, is behind the development of this new hotel.
The project has been the subject of two stop-work orders this year, one on Sept. 23 for doing excavation work and removing soil without a permit and another, on Oct. 3, for violating a site alteration permit that was issued on Sept. 26 to allow the developer to conduct work within a permitted area of the site only.
The town, through Canada’s Administrative Monetary Penalty System, fined the developer $500 a day for each day the illegal work took place.
The Glencairn Hall property is owned by Scott Corbett, who entered into an agreement in August with Marotta to merge a portion of Glencairn Hall’s lands with a plot of land next door, owned by Marotta.
Minor said recovery efforts for heritage items were completed before the building’s demolition, also in August.
Glencairn Hall, a 19th-century heritage property, was destroyed in a fire in April that police are investigating as criminal arson.
Wheeler said concerns about excess soil deposits can be reported to the ministry’s Niagara District Office at 905-704-3900 during business hours, or to the Spills Action Centre at 1-866-663-8477 after hours, on weekends and holidays.
The Lake Report contacted Tom Richardson, a lawyer from Sullivan Mahoney LLP, representing Two Sisters on this project, but did not receive a response before press time.
