Growing pains dominated the news in Niagara-on-the-Lake throughout 2024. Again.

From longstanding disputes over plans for the iconic Rand Estate, to lowrise condominium projects, a hotel on the beloved old Parliament Oak school property, mammoth highrises in Glendale and much more, development proposals were the number one issue facing the town in 2024.

And as the new year begins, there is no easing of growth pressures on the horizon.

For that reason, we consider community change and development as the biggest issue facing NOTL now and in the future.

In contrast, many NOTLers have made it clear they don’t want rampant development to alter the community they call home.

Council — and the province’s notorious Ontario Land Tribunal — made headlines over the past 12 months as they approved several housing projects that neighbours and community groups found objectionable.

NOTL’s leaders — and the decisions they made — were closely scrutinized (and often criticized) by a very involved and engaged electorate.

This is not a new debate in town. It’s flourished here for decades.

But with loud public protests, numerous anti-development screeds on social media and many more development decisions facing councillors in the second half their four-year term, vigorous debates will continue in 2025.

Those debates and decisions will determine what NOTL will look like in the decades to come.

We anticipate that many people will not like the result.

Meanwhile, let’s take a look through the pages of The Lake Report in 2024 and how we got to this point.

January

Jan. 4 edition:  Town council emerges from a closed-door meeting in mid-December to outline its plans to allow developer Solmar to build a new entrance to its Rand Estate development — via the Upper Canada Heritage Trail. It’s a controversial and short-lived proposition that meets huge public opposition and is rescinded on Jan. 12

After nearly three decades in business, Customs House Cigars closes its doors and owner Ian Wilson retires.

The annual Tractor Parade, the COVID-era brainchild of Dorothy Soo-Wiens and her husband Erwin, rakes in more than $100,000 in donations for cancer research.

Jan. 11: In Niagara Region, amalgamation is not the answer to the area’s political concerns, Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa says.

Niagara Region’s speed camera near Crossroads Public School in Virgill is now operational — and speeders will soon start receiving tickets in the mail.

Garrison House chef David Watt teams up with colleagues to produce “Feast of Friends,” a new cookbook featuring 30 recipes from 30 chefs who have had an influence on Watt.

The NOTL Museum has wayyy more artifacts than it has space. The latest in a series of stories looks at the museum’s expansion needs and $10-million fundraising plans.

Jan. 18: After three years of concerted lobbying by residents, council votes to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h on the narrow streets and laneways of NOTL’s Chautauqua neighbourhood.

The polar vortex — remember that? — sweeps in and sends Niagara temperatures plunging. And icewine growers who were anxiously awaiting the chance to harvest the year’s grapes are able to chill out and bring in the crop.

Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, who lives not far from the Rand Estate, again declared a conflict of interest during debate on giving Solmar access via the heritage trail. He says he was following legal advice.

St. Davids residents remain deeply concerned about plans for the Tawny Ridge development, despite some revisions. They worry about sewage capacity and flooding after rainstorms.

Jan. 25: NOTL Catholic school trustee Natalia Benoit is suspended for five months for violating the board’s code of conduct by comparing the Pride flag to the Nazi flag.

Nearly 600 residents responded to questions about their future housing needs and now independent researchers Steve Ferley and Michael Ennamorato and a team from Niagara College are analyzing the data to determine what the town’s seniors say is most important to them.

Council rejects the recommendations of its own planning staff and refuses to approve an unpopular King Street condo project proposed by Bice Builders.

Thanks to a $15-million donation, Niagara Health renames the St. Catharines hospital the Marotta Family Hospital.

February

Feb. 1: The annual icewine festival suitably begins with frigid, sub-zero temperatures but experiences heavy rains during a soggy second week of festivities.

And that excessive rain leads to flooding all over town as the uncharacteristic precipitation fills ditches, vineyards and parks.

The bad news continues for suspended NOTL Catholic school trustee Natalia Benoit as a financial audit shows she did not properly report her 2022 election expenditures.

Thorold native Max Murphy is hired as the new pro at the NOTL Golf Club. By late summer, though, he leaves the club and no replacement is announced.

Feb. 8: As he languishes in a Chinese jail, pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, owner of Vintage Hotels in NOTL, is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The community rallies to help Crossroads Public School principal Kate Fish and her family after a pre-Christmas fire destroys their Niagara Falls home.

The town approves a $10.2-million capital budget for 2024. Two major projects include reconstruction of Concession 6, between Warner and York roads, and a watermain replacement on Hunter Road.

Exclusive drone photos give readers a birds-eye view of the construction of a massive stone breakwall to protect the Lake Ontario shoreline from erosion. It’s the latest step in a multi-million dollar Parks Canada project.

Feb. 15: Town councillors admit they messed up and inadvertently voted to reject a project that had already been approved. They reversed course and the result is the entire Tawny Ridge development — which St. Davids residents campaigned vehemently against — now has the green light.

The Lake Report is again honoured by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association, nominated for 27 awards, the most of any publication in the province. Again.

With a major solar eclipse happening in April, the town is preparing for the possible influx of a large number of visitors.

The NOTL Local, once a locally owned and operated entity, now controlled by online publisher Village Media Inc., announces plans to end its print publication on Feb. 28. Its demise follows the suspension of Metroland’s Niagara This Week print edition a few months earlier.

Feb. 22: NOTL chief librarian Cathy Simpson writes an opinion piece for The Lake Report headlined, “Censorship and what we are allowed to read.” The resulting controversy ends her career.

Council reverses town staff decisions preventing two residents from cutting down trees on their properties, taking issue with the town’s approach to tree preservation.

Foot patrols bring a “nostalgic aspect” back to policing in NOTL as constables Nicolas Hawrylyshyn and Michael Malachowsky walk the beat in downtown NOTL every week.

Minimal snowfall and balmy winter temperatures are indicators of major climate change — and it could mean big problems for NOTL in the future, columnist Kyra Simone warns.

With the departure of chief administrator Marnie Cluckie, the town forms a committee to find a permanent replacement for her. Almost a year later, no one has been hired.

Feb. 29: A letter from reader Matthew French calls out chief librarian Cathy Simpson’s opinion piece for promoting “right-wing talking points.”

Laurie Harley, one of the founders and leaders of NOTL’s innovative Ambassadors program, is named the town’s Citizen of the Year.

Ontario Grape Growers chief executive Debbie Zimmerman and famed NOTL vintner Donald Ziraldo say the country needs a national version of the Vintners Quality Alliance of Ontario — dedicated to the promotion of wines from every appellation in Canada.

After a sometimes heated debate, council says it won’t allow any more Queen Street patios. For now.

March

March 7: As the controversy over chief librarian Cathy Simpson quietly brews behind closed doors, The Lake Report publishes its second annual salute to International Women’s Day with a special section containing stories and photos.

In the not-too-distant future, with up to 20,000 people ultimately calling the Glendale community home, many of them living in highrise towers beside the QEW, those people could control NOTL’s destiny, columnist Brian Marshall warns.

The snowbells are in bloom, tulips are nudging through soil and after a wacky winter weather-wise, record-setting temperatures across Ontario prompts golfers to hit the links in droves. In early March. The Queenston and St. Davids golf courses are packed.

March 14:  After weeks of deliberation and debate, council cuts a proposed tax hike of 9.88 per cent to 6.75 per cent.

While charitable donations pushed revenue to a record $36.7 million, the Shaw Festival continues to suffer from a COVID hangover and loses $5.7 million in 2023.

St. Davids boxer Mackenzie Wright falls a single point short in her latest attempt to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The bout in Italy means she’ll have one more chance to qualify for the Games, via a tournament in the Philippines in May.

An army of volunteers helps make sure the NOTL Hockey Association’s annual March Break Classic tourney is a resounding success for participants and fans. And the hometown U9 Wolves local league team performs well and wins silver after a loss to a powerhouse team from Sault Ste. Marie.

March 21: After being suspended by the library board on March 8, chief librarian Cathy Simpson is fired over the content of an opinion piece published in The Lake Report.  The Feb. 22 opinion piece, “Censorship and what we are allowed to read,” focused on Freedom to Read Week, but drew strong criticism from a few in the community over its promotion of some of the principles espoused by the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.

With Niagara Region’s new speed camera operating outside Crossroads Public School, we asked readers if they’ve received any speeding tickets. Dozens of readers respond and they are none too happy about the expensive surprises that have arrived by mail.

A 160-home development in Virgil will mean the loss of about 800 trees — and area residents are upset at the prospect.

March 28: The long wait for a walk-in clinic for patients in NOTL who don’t have a family doctor is almost over. The Niagara North Family Health Team says a new nurse practitioner will start seeing patients in April.

The Lake Report is flooded with letters and residents are speaking out, unhappy that the NOTL Public Library board fired chief librarian Cathy Simpson over an opinion column censorship.

NOTL’s Kaleb Dietsch is making an impression with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL and now he’s been called up to big club to practice and work out daily. The move pays off as in the 2024-25 season, Dietsch has been a full-time regular on the Ottawa blueline.

April

April 4: The average NOTL home price has topped $1 million, according to the Niagara Association of Realtors.

Hundreds of kids storm the fields near the NOTL Community Centre for the annual Bunny Trail and egg hunt.

The town will receive about $3.5 million from the sale of the Niagara Regional Broadband Network to a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications. NOTL, through Energy Services Niagara, held a minority stake — 25 per cent — in the internet, telephone and TV provider since it was formed in 2004 to fill the region’s need for broadband services.

NOTL plans ahead for the April 8 solar eclipse, as fans warily watch weather forecasts, which are not positive.

April 11: The eclipse was eclipsed by the weather. It got dark for a few minutes in the middle of the day and the streetlights turned on briefly, but cloudy skies ruined the much-anticipated total solar eclipse that thousands of people hoped for.

The planned twinning of the Garden City Skyway takes a big step forward as the province opens bids for the project.

The long-awaited Ontario Land Tribunal  hearing into the development proposed for the Rand Estate begins.

Oops. After Chautauqua residents lobbied for three years to lower area speed limits, the town installed new 30 km/h signs. However, several were put up on the wrong streets. The town corrected the problem after The Lake Report asked about it.

April 18: After two years as CEO of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Niagara-on-the-Lake, Minerva Ward abruptly leaves her post. No explanation is offered and board chair Andrew Niven takes over the helm until an interim CEO can be hired.

Stone fruit farmers in NOTL are warily watching the weather forecasts as low overnight temperatures threaten the early spring blossoms.

The Rand Estate has important cultural heritage attributes, but just what the attributes are is a subject of debate, a former senior NOTL town planner tells the Ontario Land Tribunal. One of the bones of contention, Leah Wallace says, is how much of the old Dunington-Grubb landscape design remains on the property.

April 25: Thanks to a $1-million donation from the Goettler Family Foundation, the Niagara Foundation has obtained full ownership of the Wilderness property on King Street in NOTL. The Wilderness, “as it has been known for more than 100 years,” is about five acres and “has significant historic, cultural, environmental and botanical importance within the Niagara region,” the foundation says.

Residents objecting to the firing of chief librarian Cathy Simpson obtain more than 600 signatures on a petition calling for the library “to follow its own policies for protecting library neutrality and viewpoint diversity.”

NOTL marathoner Margot Devlin conquered the London Marathon for the fifth time. Registered in the age 65 to 69 category, she bettered her time from last year’s rain-soaked race by more than 22 minutes, with a time of 6:45.14. Next up is her 11th New York City Marathon in November.

May

May 2: Well-known NOTL retailer Peter Earle is preparing to close up shop — and end his life. After years of struggling with ALS, has decided he will have a medically assisted death on June 4 and in an interview he talks about his decision.

The Ontario Land Tribunal has approved a controversial condo planned at the end of King Street. The 17-unit, three-storey project originally proposed by Josh Bice of Butler’s Garden Development Inc., has been greenlit after the owner appealed the project for a non-decision by council in late October 2023.

Plans for a cross-lake hovercraft service from Niagara are still afloat, promoter Chris Morgan of NOTL says. He promises more details soon, but months later we’re still waiting on a firm date for launch.

May 9:  Angry residents stormed out of a planning meeting after being told they could not speak during the public delegations portion. Following three public presentations, residents chimed in from the back of the room asking when they would have the chance to speak.

NOTL councillors have been among the lowest paid in Niagara Region, with an annual salary of $16,208. Coun. Wendy Cheropita convinced her colleagues to boost their pay to $20,000, which will cost the town about $30,000 a year.

It’s time to take stalk — it’s asparagus season and NOTL’s Thwaites Farms is ready for lovers of the delicious green stalks

The NOTL branch of the Royal Canadian Legion is planning ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6.

Members of a community group that want the town’s integrity commissioner to investigate the firing of NOTL’s chief librarian are refused permission to speak to council. A town official tells them the subject doesn’t meet the rules and policies for public delegations.

May 16:  The Virgil Stampede is back for another year, culminating with Monday’s Victoria Day fireworks show.

Some residents say amendments planned for a condo development near Line 1 Road go too far. The developer wants to redesignate the land as medium-density residential instead of low-density residential to build 50 townhouses.

If you’re one of many visitors flocking from near and far to see what Niagara-on-the-Lake’s all about, the friendly folks patrolling Queen Street in their blue vests are here to help. The NOTL Ambassadors program has returned for another season.

May 23: While Saturday’s crowds at the Virgil Stampede were smaller than expected, over the weekend and holiday Monday the venue was packed and attendance records might have been broken, organizers said.

An Ontario Land Tribunal hearing on developer Solmar’s plans for the Rand Estate goes on hiatus until late summer, as issues of road access, landscape features and sewage capacity are debated.

After the town refuses to have its integrity commissioner investigate the firing of chief librarian Cathy Simpson, a group of residents says they will seek their own integrity investigation.

“The Doc,” as he was known to many, Dr. Ranjit Ahluwalia, a family physician and fixture in NOTL for a half-century, dies at age 95.

May 30:  Councillors pass a controversial bylaw to make way for the creation of developer Rainer Hummel’s proposed 81-room hotel at 228 Queen St. in Old Town.

Lifelong NOTL resident Dave Van de Laar, The Lake Report’s talented news photographer, is named Photographer of the Year by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association. In all, the newspaper and its niagaranow.com website earn 27 awards in the association’s annual competition.

Queenston attracts a larger number of vehicles, cyclists and hikers with its scenic routes and attractions — and the village’s residents association wants the town to lower speed limits in the community, citing safety concerns.

The U13 Niagara Thunderhawks are crowned champions at the annual Mike Jones Memorial Lacrosse Tournament in Virgil after a 7-3 come-from-behind win over the Pelham Raiders.

June

June 6: New crosswalk lights on Niagara Stone Road near the NOTL Community Centre and library are a hazard because many drivers don’t see them and are not stopping for pedestrians, some residents say.

Aquatic sports run in the family for NOTL sisters Peyton and Georgia Leigh, who are making a splash on the national swim scene. Just 16 and 13 respectively, they’re setting records and have their eyes set on representing Canada internationally.

A single-vehicle crash that took the life of another person on a notorious section of Lakeshore Road sparks sparked a flurry of mixed emotions from local residents who can agree on at least one thing: the stretch of road is a killer. Despite opposition from many residents, The Lake Report calls on the region to remove a tree along the stretch of road that has claimed several lives.

June 13: Councillors reach a stalemate regarding White Oaks Resort and Spa’s proposal to increase building heights in Glendale for a major new residential development. Both White Oaks’ request for four new towers and a proposal from one councillor to reduce the buildings’ heights were rejected at the committee of the whole planning meeting.

Despite pleas from residents opposed to it, NOTL’s planning committee approves Two Sister Resorts Corp.’s controversial plan to build a 129-room hotel on the site of the old Parliament Oak school. The project will include a restaurant and patio, spa and personal services, banquet/conference facilities and retail stores. Full council approval is still needed, however.

“My Fair Lady” makes a triumphant return to the Shaw Festival stage, earning kudos from theatregoers and a stellar four-star review from The Lake Report’s critic, Penny-Lynn Cookson.

June 20: Emotions are mixed as the notorious Lakeshore Road tree at the site of two deadly car crashes is taken down. A tree removal service cut down the mature maple on the stretch of road across from the Niagara Lakeshore Cemetery.

Where does the NOTL housing market go from here? Longtime journalist, commentator and former federal cabinet minister Garth Turner joins The Lake Report as a columnist.

Bikes for Farmworkers needs more bikes! With a big increase in bike sales over this time last year, and a steady stream of needy customers still coming through the doors weekly, the volunteer agency needs more two-wheelers.

Ken Schander, Laurie Harley and Rose Campbell are all honoured with the prestigious Paul Harris Award by the Rotary Club of NOTL.

June 27: A formal 5-4 vote approves plans for the 129-room Parliament Oak hotel on King Street. And as summer unfolds, the venerable old school will be knocked down to make way for developer Benny Marotta’s latest project.

An informal online poll conducted by The Lake Report finds the approval ratings for the mayor and many councillors is less than 20 per cent.

Chief librarian Cathy Simpson will not be returning to the NOTL Public Library, but some residents say their battle for library neutrality — the right of patrons to access books that express multiple, even offensive viewpoints — is far from over.

As always, NOTL’s unofficial kickoff to summer, the annual Strawberry Festival, is huge and tasty hit.

• NEXT WEEK: Part two of the Year in Review, from July through December.