Her grandmother Ruth Taylor was Niagara-on-the-Lake’s first female councillor and Karen Taylor-Jones says the town and its politics have been important to her family for generations.

Taylor-Jones is unhappy about a steady stream of new developments approved by council and is planning a protest Tuesday to let councillors know.

She’s inviting everyone in the community to take part — and hoping that a large crowd of NOTLers will show up outside town hall at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, prior to the next council meeting.

“The reason I decided to do this was because of my grandmother,” she said. 

The idea was spawned after council on June 25 approved a zoning change to allow construction of the Parliament Oak hotel — but Taylor-Jones emphasized that this isn’t just about what’s happening in Old Town.

She’s concerned about what’s going on across the municipality.

Suspended urban design committee and committee of adjustment member Allan Killin will be joining Taylor-Jones at the rally.

Killin said council repeatedly has made decisions that are not consistent with the town’s official plan. 

“Citizens have been writing about the official plan because they know that’s the document that (the town) endorsed. But in the meantime, we’ve seen zero infrastructure work from the 2017 plan,” he said.

Killin, an architect, said he received an email in February saying he was suspended from town committees pending an investigation.

“It turns out the suspension and the investigation were bogus,” he said, adding that it was not done through the integrity commissioner.

“Somehow staff and council members, in a closed session, created circumstances where they overreached beyond their legal powers under the Municipal Act and suspended the very people who were confident to comment on urban design,” Killin told The Lake Report.

He added that he is joining the rally for this very reason.

“I’m the poster boy for rejected good advice — and I’m not the only one,” Killin said.

Killin said he was suspended along with another member, who was let go in January.

“When I say suspended, I mean it in quotation marks. There is nothing in the law that allows them to do that,” Killin said.

His lawyer sent a letter to town chief administrator Bruce Zvaniga saying that what was done was outside the law.

Killin said his original goal was to receive an apology and reinstatement.

“I haven’t seen either of those,” he said.

On the town’s website, both Killin and the other suspended member are still listed among the members of the committees.

Killin claimed that during his absence, several applications and staff recommendations have been made that are “demonstrably not in the public interest,” including developments in Glendale, Queenston, St. Davids and Old Town.

“There are decisions that have affected each of the five villages and the rural areas that make up our remarkable and unique town,” he said.

“It’s not just one decision. It’s decisions that have threatened the character of all five villages,” he added.

Killin said his main goal with the rally, in tandem with an online petition, is to bring the community together and spark discussion.

“These are instruments to counteract the global intent to keep us from talking, to keep us from getting together in public spaces to talk about what makes our town and creating documents like our provincial plan,” he said.

Killin said councillors have ignored numerous recommendations from the urban design committee and they are trying to dismiss the need for the committee altogether.

“Citizens have had enough. We need more interaction,” he said.

Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa could not be reached late Wednesday for comment on the two suspensions.

Steve Hardaker, who spoke to council last month about the highrises planned near White Oaks, said, “Glendale residents on both sides of the QEW are angry.”

The approved towers “exceed accepted building heights and will overshadow some of the low-density neighbourhoods in the area. As with Parliament Oak, council has ignored those concerns, including a 644 signature petition against White Oaks,” he added.

Taylor-Jones said that after making a new Facebook page for the rally, more than 150 people joined within the first 24 hours. 

She said that with a Randwood Estate rally attracting 450 protesters, she hopes to see close to 500 people outside of town hall next week.

She said she has spoken to police about having officers on hand at town hall and to direct traffic.

Zalepa is well aware of the planned rally and said council will go on with “business as usual.”

“I’m going to show up and do the meeting I always do,” he said in an earlier interview.

Zalepa added he isn’t clear about the organizers’ concerns because they have not been in touch with him.

“I’m always happy to understand better what their concerns are,” he said. “I would always appreciate more effective communication.”

Zalepa said he sent Taylor-Jones an email inviting her to have a conversation with him but had yet to receive a response. 

Taylor-Jones said his offer to call or email is “not a real conversation.”

People interested in joining the rally can contact Taylor-Jones at k.jones55@hotmail.com.

juliasacco@niagaranow.com