Dear editor:

Erwin Wiens has consistently been supportive of most development proposals in all areas of town and who, in direct conversation with myself, once explained what a vital role developers, like his first cousin Rainer Hummel, play in unlocking the potential of under or undeveloped property, stating the developer spends thousands of dollars to get the property rezoned into a subdivision or commercial use.

But what he neglects to mention is the developer makes millions of dollars in doing so, which adds to the cost of the homes or businesses constructed simply by gaining exceptions to our official plan and zoning bylaws (and I won’t even opine about the relationships between municipal politicians and developers).

It is really too bad the lord mayor debate forum didn’t include a question about the community planning permit system, which has been included in our new official plan to elicit the position of our lord mayor candidates.

I note that when a motion came before council on May 26 to direct staff to provide an information report on the feasibility, staff capacity and cost of advancing a community planning permit system and Chautauqua neighbourhood review, our current deputy lord mayor Wiens voted against it.

Wiens has consistently portrayed himself as the best friend and supporter of the Niagara-on-the-Lake agriculture community and yet, according to his statement at the mayoral forum, the ditches were last “brushed” rather than cleared in 2014-2015, although historically, municipal drains and ditches have been brushed on average every seven years and, with invasive phragmites, are suggested every three years.

Wouldn’t that have suggested that drain clearing should have been top of the agenda for Wiens when he took office in 2022? Instead, we had historic flooding in 2026.

Wiens is sandwiched between Glendale and the Niagara District Airport since, as a commissioner, he can hardly deny his role in the expansion plans to extend the existing 5,000-foot main runway by 2,500 feet to enable safe operations for larger North American commercial aircraft and at the same time support the height of the White Oaks development, which seems to fly in the face of Transport Canada restrictions.

Wiens says absolute no to amalgamation, but two years ago, there he was at the airport and then the next day at cousin Rainer’s house by the NOTL golf course, feting and supporting Doug Ford’s election, who, it turns out, is hell-bent on dismantling NOTL government in favour of amalgamating us into a megalopolis.

Only Vaughan Goettler has pledged to not use strong-mayor powers to veto the democratic majority rule of council. Erwin says it saves huge money in the budget process, but what is to preclude Vaughan from simply getting the majority approval of council to follow the same process instead of simply dictating he will use strong-mayor powers to do so?

Bob Bader
NOTL