The following letter was sent to the mayor and town council. A copy was submitted for publication.

You will soon be considering both an official plan and zoning bylaw amendment for of one of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s largest and most historic town blocks, and one of the last significant land parcels zoned open space and community use.

Your decision will be a watershed moment and will set the tone for development throughout your term – and beyond.

The Niagara Foundation opposes the removal of this block from open space and community use, let alone the conversion to the commercial use proposed. We plan to submit comments to the May 9 public Mmeeting in this regard.

Further, we intend to submit comments with respect to the demolition permit application, and associated commemoration plans, expected to come before council on April 25, which brings me to the subject of this letter.

Why, prior to your decision to permit or deny the change of use for such a large and important piece of property, would a landowner be permitted to bulldoze the structure? A structure with an almost 70-year history of serving this community as a public institution.

In our view, demolition is, at best, premature as no work can commence on the site until after the official plan and zoning applications are adjudicated. The demolition seems to have one purpose only: to apply pressure on the town to accept the land-use change.

If permission to demolish is granted, it wouldn’t be hard to envision an unkempt, hoarded-up worksite in the centre of Old Town, adjacent to residences and prime tourist areas. And this could be a situation that lasts for years.

One doesn’t need to look far for examples of where it has occurred or is occurring right now: boarded up entrance gates at the Rand Estate, derelict buildings and landfill at the former Mori Gardens site, and a prolonged closure of the Fan’s Court complex adjacent to the Post Office on Queen Street.

Don’t let Parliament Oak be the next example of this landowner’s modus operandi.

The Niagara Foundation strongly encourages council and town staff to complete their analysis of the official plan and zoning bylaw amendments before permitting demolition of this heritage building. We look forward to active and full participation in this process over the coming weeks.

Lyle Hall
President
The Niagara Foundation