Karen Taylor-Jones called Friday’s Niagara-on-the-Lake Residents’ Association forum “the most horrifying night” of her life.
The crowd laughed. She said it had been worth it.
By then, she and five other NOTL council candidates had faced eight detailed questions at Crossroads Public School, some of which had to be repeated.
Candidates were asked whether developers should be allowed to stray from the town’s official plan, what council should do about flooding and whether they would help a lord mayor override a council majority.
How firm is the official plan?
Andrew Niven gave a clear answer when candidates were asked about exceptions to the town’s official plan.
“One amendment is too many for me,” he said, arguing that council should follow the policies it has put in place and consider whether a proposal fits the community.
Sandra O’Connor said amendments have become the norm when they should be exceptional. Any departure from the plan should be “extraordinary,” she said.
Maria Mavridis took a different approach. She said each application must be judged on its own merits, taking the official plan and provincial policies into account.
“I don’t have a straightforward answer. Every application is different,” she said.
Taylor-Jones said her disagreement with changes to the plan was a major reason she is running.
“I thought an official plan was official,” she said.
Rick Mills called for minimal exceptions, while Tim Balasiuk said he expects developers to follow the plan but council must assess each application individually on their own merits.
What happens after the floods?
The summer’s flooding made the question of infrastructure personal for Balasiuk. He said his basement took on four feet of water twice in five days.
His first priority would be to find out whether existing drains and storm sewers are working properly and fix what is broken before spending money to upgrade the stormwater management system.
Niven said the town has been “somewhat reactive” and should make long-term flood projects a budget priority. Taylor-Jones also called for prevention, pointing to irrigation ditches she had seen filled with bulrushes.
O’Connor said council needs a closer look at stormwater capacity in new developments. She said those details are often dealt with at the site-plan stage, when plans do not come back to council for review.
Mavridis said the town has begun investing in infrastructure but is still catching up on work left undone. “Unfortunately, we are being reactive because there’s items that weren’t done previously,” she said.
Would they back a strong mayor?
Candidates were asked whether they would join a lord mayor in using strong-mayor powers to override a council majority.
Niven, O’Connor and Mavridis said they oppose the powers. Mills said he does not support them either, though he would not commit a flat yes or no on whether he would ever vote to use them.
Balasiuk argued that a strong council could keep the powers in check. He also pointed to the budget process as a case in which they had been useful, saying the powers helped the town approve its budget sooner.
O’Connor disputed that explanation. She credited the town’s new chief administrative officer with bringing forward a more workable budget.
The candidates found common ground on a separate question about accountability: all six supported recording council votes so residents can see how each member voted. Several said the town should resume using its electronic voting system.
Tourism — and a parking proposal?
Balasiuk called for a cap on short-term rentals, suggesting a “one-in, one-out” system when a licence ends. Niven proposed looking at limits by neighbourhood, including fewer unhosted rentals in Old Town and Chautauqua.
Niven also said he was disappointed that none of the tourism strategy’s 22 action items had been completed. O’Connor said she wants some municipal accommodation tax revenue directed toward infrastructure affected by visitors.
O’Connor returned to the cost of tourism in her closing statement, offering a proposal she said she had missed during the budget question: expand paid parking in downtown Old Town, raise the rates significantly and give residents free passes.
The crowd applauded.
