With the acceptance of the staff report recommending acceptance of the apartment building at 223 and 227 Mary St. (“Councillors approve zoning amendment for Mary Street condo,” Sept. 11) following closely behind the approval of an even more massive hotel building on the Parliament Oaks site, it would appear our lord mayor and council have officially accepted a new norm for Old Town that flies in the face of the official plan.

Section 4.8.2.1 of NOTL’s 2019 official plan reads: “With the exception of Glendale, the town consists of low-rise structures in a small town setting with a large number of cultural heritage resources. Generally, building heights in Old Town, St. Davids, and Queenston do not exceed ten (10) metres. This lowrise character will be maintained, and the implementing zoning bylaw will limit building height accordingly.”

This section was conveniently not mentioned in the staff report. I wonder why?

Other than the 1990s-era 61 Paffard St. condo tucked in behind townhouses, there are no other buildings in Old Town higher than three storeys at street level.

Yet, since the beginning of 2024 council has approved two hotels and a residential building of four storeys in the core area of Old Town. Hmm?

If we really want to twin with Frankenmuth or a similar tourist destination, perhaps we should be very careful with what our town looks like to visitors.

I recently sat next to a woman from Detroit who drives to take in the Shaw Festival several times a year and bypasses Stratford because it lacks character and looks like a subdivision … might we be headed in that direction?

Yes, we need more apartments and seniors oriented housing in Old Town, but can we somehow keep new developments to the area south of Mary Street so we remain the quaint village people love to visit?