Vandals target waterfront condo plan
Group defaces sign, claiming to ‘speak for the trees’
The site of a proposed waterfront condo in Fort Erie was vandalized over the weekend.
The controversial 10-storey condo was approved by town council this year, and is set to be built at the wooded area adjacent to Waverly Beach. The project has faced fierce opposition from environmental groups who are concerned about the loss of natural waterfront forest, animal protection groups who say migratory birds will die when they fly into the side of the condo, and historians who say the bodies of fallen War of 1812 soldiers are buried at the site.
The developer has erected billboards at the site to advertise the housing project, and the town has put up public notice billboards as required by planning regulations to notify the public about changes to the area.
Both billboards were spray painted sometime over the weekend with the phrase “We speak for the trees.” The vandals also went to the site and removed survey stakes which were placed to denote where the public portion of Waverly Beach ends, and privately-owned section begins.
The proposed project would see a sizeable chunk of the forest removed to make way for townhouses and the condo. The town has a tentative deal on the table to ensure that about 2.8 hectares of the forest near the water, the portion which the public currently uses as a hiking trail and bike path, will be preserved and possibly turned over to Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority to be managed as a public park.
Mayor Wayne Redekop said the town will be keeping a close eye on the property, and has contacted police to meet about the issue.
“This type of conduct is unacceptable, and will not be tolerated,” said Redekop. “This reflects badly on our community, and it should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
Redekop said the town will be reaching out to the Harbourtown Village developer about the vandalism, and will consider installing security cameras in the area.
“This conduct is designed to intimidate, and to cause upset within the community,” said Redekop.
A group of local activists have appealed the town’s approval of the project to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (formerly the Ontario Municipal Board). Redekop said he supports their actions, but not the actions of people who vandalized the site.
This is not the first time vandals have struck the Harbourtown Village site. Earlier this summer, for legal and liability reasons, a series of No Trespassing signs were erected at the entrance to the hiking path through the woods. Within days of the signs going up, most were torn down and discarded or put directly into garbage bins at Waverly Beach.
Alongside the 110-unit condo project, the Harbourtown Village subdivision will have 66 houses and 61 townhomes, for a total of 237 housing units.
The property was purchased from the town by an investor about 30 years ago, but he always allowed the public to cross through it and ostensibly treat the space as another public park. But last year he sold the property to an investor who quickly put together plans for a subdivision.