CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct information regarding the reason Karen Taylor-Jones’ delegations to address council on Sept. 24 and July 30 were denied by the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
A second protest outside NOTL town hall against the already approved Parliament Oak Hotel development attracted only eight people.
Organizer Karen Taylor-Jones arrived at the planned start time of 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 24 to a scene much different than the one she led just under two months ago.
The small group of protesters spent most of the time huddled amongst themselves in even smaller groups of two or three.
No protest signs were seen and no hot-tempered words were aimed at arriving councillors.
In contrast, councillors arriving for their monthly meeting on July 30 were greeted by the sounds of hundreds of residents gathered outside, some calling them liars and demanding their resignations.
The Parliament Oak Hotel is a proposed four storey, 129-room five-star facility at the former Parliament Oak School site at 325 King St. in the heart of Old Town that has faced a bevy of criticisms.
Along with concerns that it will create a traffic nightmare thanks to the large amount of staff and guest vehicles coming to and from — and other concerns about stormwater management deficiencies — many in the community simply believe is too tall and an affront to the surrounding homes, NOTL’s heritage and serenity.
“I am disappointed,” Taylor-Jones said Tuesday of the low turnout.
“I had lots of people saying they were coming. Maybe they are discouraged because this council is hell bent to just say yes to everything,” she added.
She also blamed a number of other reasons for the apparent apathy such as general life commitments and the weather — forecasts earlier in the day called for heavy rainfall, though that didn’t happen.
Taylor-Jones had also hoped to address council in chambers Tuesday — however, after filing her delegation paperwork and a copy of her speech before the deadline of Monday at noon, her request was denied.
In an email from the town’s deputy clerk, Taylor-Jones is told she cannot “delegate to the merits of the site and/or the development itself” and “would be required to speak exclusively to whether or not you supported the site plan returning to council.”
“As such your delegation will not be included on the upcoming agenda,” the email reads.
It’s the second time she’s felt that she’s been prevented from speaking, the first being back in the summer.
“Before the protest in July, I came in on a Friday morning to do delegation (paperwork) and I was told I was too late.”
“So, now I’m doing a delegation for this and they told me I had ’til Monday at noon,” she said, meaning Sept. 24.
“So I got my paperwork in, and then they told me I was turned down.”
On the bottom of the paperwork she had, it said she had until noon on Tuesday to submit, she added.
“So I came out this morning and (the municipal staff member) said, ‘Well, it was closed yesterday.'”
At that point, Taylor-Jones showed the staff member what she obtained from the town’s website, but was told what she had in her hand was old paperwork.
“I said, ‘Well, that’s what’s coming off your website.'”
An online search for “Niagara on the Lake delegation” returns these top two results: a PDF document of a delegation form from the town’s website dated 2022, stating “your request must be made no later than 12 p.m. on the day of the schedule meeting”; and, a link to a page on the town’s website, “Delegation Requests,” with a link to a online form and information stating it must be completed and submitted “no later than 12 p.m. on the Monday prior to the scheduled meeting.”
If she can’t do it in person, Taylor-Jones is promising to continue her fight with a pen and paper.
“I guess I’ll write letters to the Ombudsman, the Ontario Land Tribunal,” she said.
