Richard Maxwell, who lives on the Promenade, not farĀ from the Rand Estate, was among dozens of NOTL residents who packed the courtroom Monday and Tuesday to watch the proceedings over the future of the historic Old Town property.
For Maxwell, and many of the others, it was important to be in the St. Catharines courtĀ ājust to show support for SORE,ā the residentsĀ group thatās joined the townās legal battle against the proposal by Solmar Development Corp. and Two Sisters Resort Corp.
āAnd I donāt like what theyāre going to do with the Randwood Estate. Itās totally wrong to have a seven-eight storey hotel and 400 cars parked in that area,ā said Maxwell.
His major concerns with the projectĀ are āoversight on houses, the traffic increase thatās going to come along. Thereās going to be an entrance off Charlotte Street and then John Street. Itās just not appropriate for the area.ā
He said heās also not impressed with the initial designs of the hotel, or the subdivision planned to go behind the development.
As of Tuesday afternoon he said as far as the court case was going, he thought the submissions were āmarginally in SOREās favour.ā
āI think if (developer Benny Marotta) had gone along the lines of Trisha Romance, with a boutique hotel rather than a Holiday Inn, I donāt think he would have had any problems.ā
The other thing he disagrees with is the āclear-cutting that was done,ā he said.
āYou could not see a building on the Rand Estate from the heritage trail. Now you can see everything,ā he said.
Bob Bader, who also lives in the vicinity of the development, said he was also in the courtroom to support of the town and SORE.
āThis is an important decision for the townĀ and I think itās good for the people of the town to support our council and mayor,ā Bader said.
From what he heard in court he said heĀ thinks the townās argument is āvery cogent.ā
āI donāt see how the judge can rule any way other than for dismissing the motion. Apparently from what the lawyer was saying, it doesnāt make any sense that weāre even here.ā
He said the main thing that convinced him the town will win is āsimply that the notice of intention to designate is not a bylaw.ā
āThe process has been skewed from day one, because the developer seems to think that he can push everybody around, including the citizens, council and our mayor. And itās nice to see that weāre actually banding together and saying, āNo, thereās a process.ā ā
If the property owners object to the townās plan for a historical designation for the site, then they should take their fight to the Conservation Review Board, he said. āAnd then maybe you can work with the town in the recommendations of the (board).ā
āItās dumb as far as Iām concerned,ā Bader said.