3 C
Niagara Falls
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Letter: Developers’ lawsuits and residents’ interests

Dear editor:

This letter is in response to the article “Developers Marotta, Hummel have no plans to settle law suits,”  (The Lake Report, July 23), and reflects as a local resident my interest and concern with the issues mentioned.

In my opinion, while the majority of residents are probably not interested in all the legal complexities of the issues that led to the article, this is a fine example of corporate intransigence and arrogance brought about solely by self-interest on the part of Messrs. Hummel and Marotta.

Rainer Hummel's argument is based upon the development freeze initiated by the new town council soon after it was elected.

Faced with the appearance of uncontrolled development that was not in the interests of town residents (although likely in the interests of the developer) council was forced to act quickly.

This was to give time to enable the new council to assess the existing situation and make a proper and informed decision with respect to future development, both in the interest of the residents and the developer.

However, Mr. Hummel believes that a technical and legal argument provides him with a legitimate excuse and the opportunity to help himself out of the pockets of every resident taxpayer.

Benny Marotta, on the other hand, is well-known for his behaviour and for his level of credibility. (His past record is well-documented and affords the best illustration of this based on his previous actions.)

The bottom line of his initial plan was to level the iconic Randwood Estate regardless of any heritage or cultural assets that may be present at the site so as to facilitate the construction of a six-level hotel (resembling a typical Holiday Inn ) combined with high-density housing.

This controversial plan apparently also includes the provision of a roundabout to be located at John Street and the Niagara Parkway for no other reason than to provide ease of access to his project.

To my limited knowledge and contrary to the unsubstantiated claim as reported in the article, there are many unresolved issues surrounding his initial plan for the Randwood Estate and these are simply not related to the development freeze. 

In this case, his use of the term common sense is misplaced and certainly does not apply to him. Hence his victim complaint of dictatorship against  council.  

Derek Collins

NOTL

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