If you drive along Dominion Road past Waverly Woods you will be shocked. A portion of the north east corner of the proposed development has been cleared. This appears to be in contradiction to the Conditions of Approval for this site which were passed by Town Council on March 19, 2018.
Even more shocking are the answers given to the community. "The clearing isn't on the proposed development site" It appears that it certainly is on the proposed development site given all the documentation on the Town's Harbourtown site. "This site has been approved for development." Really, then what is happening on April 25th of this year when we go to the Hearing?
No wonder there is a long history of destroying wetlands and woodlands in Niagara when developers get tired of the planning process. Thundering Waters and an Old Growth forest on Garner Road in Niagara Falls come to mind.
Why did this happen 3 months before the Hearing? Isn't the public entitled to a fair process? 8940 people have signed the petition. Hundreds more have made donations of money or items, attended fund-raisers, worked thousands of hours on this.
This is a gut punch to the entire Niagara community who believe in democracy. The planning process is already biased towards developers. Why bother having Conditions of Approval? Is there actually any enforcement of these conditions? Despite all the documentation on the Town's website about the proposed development, you won't be able to find the conditions of approval anywhere. Please email cvferie@gmail.com to get a copy.
Here are some questions to ask politicians asap:
1. Was a permit issued?
2. If a permit wasn't issued, what happens next?
3. If there was a permit issued, who issued it and why.
4. What about the Indigenous and War of 1812 archaeological concerns? According to condition # 37 studies need to be done and submitted to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. We know Stage 1 and 2 were submitted but it isn't clear that they were approved. Were any further studies conducted and what is their status? The Region also needs to be satisfied with the reports. Most importantly "no demolition, grading or other soil disturbance shall take place on the subject property prior to the issuance of a letter from the Ministry confirming that all archaeological resource concerns have been mitigated and meet licensing and resource conservation requirements." This is important because there are many concerns about Indigenous artifacts, possible bodies and War of 1812 bodies that need to be investigated.
5. What about Condition 55 that states "Prior to any site clearing, the Developer submit a Tree Saving Plan to the Town for review and approval" . Has that been done?
6. What about Condition 56 that states " That no tree removal, grading or soil disturbance shall take place until Council has given final approval to the subdivision."
Here is where we need your help. Please email, call or write the following politicians/agencies and ask questions. Ask for written answers. Please forward the responses to cvferie@gmail.com. Remember this is an election year for the province, region and local municipalities!!
1. For Fort Erie residents, please contact the mayor and your town councillor. (all questions above) Contact information is here https://www.forterie.ca/pages/MayorCouncillors
2. For Niagara residents please contact the Chair and your municipal representatives. (Questions # 1 to 4) Contact information is here https://www.niagararegion.ca/government/council/profiles/default.aspx
3. For Ontario residents, please contact (Question #4) both
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport Archaeology Programs Unit
Email: Archaeology@ontario.ca
and
the Ministry of Heritage, Sport and Tourism from this page https://www.ontario.ca/page/ministry-heritage-sport-tourism-culture-industries
4. Emailing your MPP too https://www.ola.org/en/members/current
* Share the petition with others https://www.change.org/p/ten-story-condo-going-up-in-waverly-woods Can we get to 9000 signatures by January 31st? If you prefer not to sign the petition an alternative is to join our email list by sending your email and name to cvferie@gmail.com.
* Please donate to help us cover our legal and expert costs. Go to this link https://www.forterievoices.org/donation or send a donation to Community Voices of Fort Erie, P.O. Box 273, Fort Erie, Ontario L2A 2S0. All donations go towards our legal and expert costs. We require experts to testify at the Hearing in areas like Planning, Ornithology, Wetlands, Hydrology, Military History and Built Heritage.