Revised Randwood plan submitted to NOTL

Changes made to controversial development proposal

A revised plan for the historic Randwood Estate has been formally submitted to the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the developer is hoping it will receive a warmer welcome from the community.

Two Sisters Resorts submitted the revised application, under review by town officials, on July 10. Developer Benny Marotta said it is hoped the proposal will be more appealing to people who have criticized the proposal for the hotel and conference centre since it was submitted last December.

“The changes were made in response to agency comments and, yes, public input received,” said Marotta. “The changes include reductions in height for portions of the proposed hotel building, relocation of the maintenance building and additional landscape design.”

The original proposal for the 145-room hotel drew sharp criticism for its height, density and design. While the revised proposal increases open space, tree canopy and tree preservation and reduces and changes step heights for portions of the proposed hotel and convention centre, it may not be enough to allay concerns from the opposition, including the citizens group SORE (Save Our Randwood Estate).

“It is still too high,” said Judy McLeod, a spokeswoman with SORE. “It doesn’t look much different to us. It steps down at the sides, but the centre will still be towering over.”

The revised proposal said the floor plate of the sixth storey has been reduced in addition to stepping back from the edge of the fifth storey around all sides except for the centre of the front facade. Two Sisters Resorts said the massing of the hotel building has also been “significantly revised to soften the presence of the hotel building.”

Some of the amenity space adjacent to properties to the west and south, McLeod said, remains a concern, in addition to potential traffic and noise issues.

“It presents a real risk to peace and privacy (for adjacent property owners),” said McLeod, noting a complete response from the group will be posted this week on its website, sorenotl.ca. “The level of commercial activity is far too high for a residential area.”

Marotta, however, said the property has been deemed appropriate through planning policies as a hotel/resort site as part of the previous Romance proposal.

He says it will bring added value to the community and ensure the Randwood property “becomes sustainable and accessible.”

“Our proposal will preserve Randwood while creating jobs, providing needed services and benefits to the town, which has long been overdue, for this remarkable site,” Marotta said of the proposed development.

McLeod said SORE remains concerned, adding while Marotta said the changes were made through public input, the group has not discussed its concerns directly with Two Sisters Resorts Corp. since March.

“We remain concerned. We haven’t seen a lot of changes and there are a lot of unknowns still,” said McLeod. “This is not a group that is against development. If it was something similar to the Romance proposal we wouldn’t have an issue.”

Marotta said Two Sisters Resorts has done everything it is required to as part of the planning process. He said feedback during the statutory public meetings has been a source of information used in the redesign.

“Throughout the process, despite continued misinformation regarding the proposal we have been consistent by following the public process, adhering to all land-use policies and regulations and listening to public input including any input received by the various committees,” he said. “This is demonstrated in the revised proposal which incorporates additional setbacks, reduced height and added landscape treatments.”

Marotta fears the proposal is a victim of “political spin”.

“I want residents to know the truth. I want them to base their opinions on facts and not political spin,” he said. “Lastly, I want them to know we will have a quality product with the highest calibre of service, which will benefit the community tremendously by ensuring the Randwood property does not continue to fall into disrepair and is instead celebrated as a destination for generations to come.”

A special council meeting will deal with the application following the Aug. 13 committee-of-thewhole meeting.