Developer Benny Marrotta has withdrawn his zoning appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal over his hotel and subdivision development proposal.
Marotta, owner of Solmar Development Corporation and Two Sisters Vineyard, wants to build a multi-storey hotel and a residential subdivision on the old Randwood Estate.
Local resident group Save Our Rand Estate has been fighting Marotta’s proposal, advocating for preservation of the historic property.
After a prehearing in May, where SORE was granted full party status in the appeal proceeding, all parties agreed to reconvene next Monday, July 29.
The status of Monday’s meeting is unknown as of press time but it is anticipated that the meeting will be cancelled.
Lyle Hall, one of SORE’s members, said Marotta’s withdrawal didn’t come as a surprise, but it is “an absolute win” for the group which will be seeking to recoup its legal costs from Marotta.
“There have been meetings going on between heritage experts … and preparation for the meeting coming up on Monday,” Hall told The Lake Report. “(SORE’s) lawyers and the town’s lawyers are spending time and, as a result, money to do so and it all appears to be for none.”
“It’s a victory for us and a victory for proper development in Niagara-on-the-Lake,” Hall said in a phone interview.
Hall said he wasn’t sure what the group’s next steps would be.
There are also a number of legal proceedings going on between the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Two Sisters Resorts Corp. and Solmar Development Corp.
In 2018, Marotta appealed NOTL’s then-council non-decision on his plans for Randwood and then appealed to the tribunal for a decision on the rezoning application for his proposal.