City council to discuss action to clean up former GM land
Residents want to see some immediate action
A strategy to deal with the beleaguered former GM property on Ontario Street will be discussed by St. Catharines city council at its next meeting.
St. Patrick’s Coun. Karrie Porter briefly outlined steps Monday that she and fellow ward Coun. Mat Siscoe want the city to take to help address residents’ concerns.
Their motion will be brought forward and discussed at the Jan. 27 council meeting.
“Residents in the neighbourhood want to see some immediate action
on the site and they want the city to do something,” said Porter, who attended a meeting on the issue hosted by Coalition for a Better St. Catharines Sunday.
The coalition said it has gathered 1,000 signatures from residents who want the city to step in and get the site cleaned up.
Residents at the meeting raised concerns about the partially demolished property being an eyesore, a magnet for trespassers and a potential environmental hazard.
The St. Patrick’s councillors have been working for a while on a motion with city staff.
Porter said although the city has taken steps to prosecute the current land owners for alleged infractions under building and fire codes, court proceedings may take months and don’t guarantee immediate action on the site.
The motion being brought forward will ask council to allocate $125,000 from the civic project fund to create a specific budget for the former GM lands.
Porter said the money would be used to immediately hire an external lawyer to advise council and staff on bylaws and provincial legislation, as well as legal precedents and case law, that would allow the city to clean up and demolish a privately-owned industrial site.
The lawyer would also provide advice on the mechanisms available to the city to recoup the costs of the clean up from the current landowner through liens and other tools so taxpayers are protected.
She said the motion will also ask to hire a security company on a month-to-month contract to watch over property.
It will also request that fencing on the site is inspected and repaired and that the work is done in a manner that allows the city to recover costs.
The Ontario Ministry of Environment will be asked for records and reports detailing how and when conditions on the former GM site are monitored by the ministry. There will also be a request that water and air quality testing near residential neighbourhoods be done by the ministry within the next month.
General Motors operated on the 21.9-hectare site for for more than 100 years until the plant closed at the end of 2010.
Bayshore Groups purchased the land in June 2014 from GM for $12.5 million and auctioned off the machinery and tools. After doing partial demolition, the company, which is embroiled in legal battles, stopped work and the property has been listed for sale since last March.
Porter’s motion will ask that the Canadian Brownfield Network send an expert to council to make a presentation on best practices for brownfield management and remediation for municipalities.
“They want the city to do something.” KARRIE PORTER CITY COUNCILLOR