Minister’s zoning order issued for rec proposal
Province says MZO will ‘kick-start’ the project’s approvals process, but Niagara Falls will ‘maintain site-plan approval’ over massive project
An Ontario minister’s zoning order has been granted for what has been described as a “world-class agritourism” proposal for the southwest corner of Mountain and Kalar roads.
And some are questioning the process that led to the approval.
The zoning order applies to land at 8656 Mountain Rd. for development of an 18-hole golf course and resort, including hotels, villas, restaurants, spa facilities, events centre and retail.
The approval was issued earlier this year, according to a website dedicated to province-wide environmental protection and backed by organizations such as David Suzuki Foundation.
According to the website, another MZO requested by Niagara Falls city council has been approved to permit a multi-storey residential building downtown, and was issued in December.
An MZO allows developers to appeal directly to Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for permission to build but has been controversial because it sidesteps local zoning requirements.
Nazaneen Baqizada, a spokesperson for the ministry, confirmed in an email the MZO for the Mountain Road development was issued Jan. 20 “to help accelerate the construction of a mixed-use development which will create jobs and support the local economy.”
“It’s important to remember that this MZO will kick-start the project’s approvals process by getting the zoning in place. The City of Niagara Falls will maintain siteplan approval, building permits and other processes and remains responsible for getting this project through to the finish line.”
Baqizada said it’s the government’s expectation councils “do their due diligence and conduct proper consultation in their communities before any request for an MZO comes to the minister for consideration.”
Mayor Jim Diodati said the Mountain Road proposal went through public consultation at a city council meeting in August where politicians discussed the issue and “if anyone had anything to say about it, they had their chance.”
During the August meeting, the last term of council supported a request for an MZO to permit the development, with all, except Coun. Lori Lococo and former councillor Carolynn Ioannoni, in support.
At the time, Lococo said she was concerned about a lack of notification to residents with an MZO, noting the city’s official plan policies and zoning don’t permit a golf course or resort.
She also raised concerns that while the proposal calls for significant woodlands and watercourses to be protected, the municipality would be losing “good agricultural land.”
Representatives for the developer said while an MZO gives developers land-use permissions, they’re still required to complete various studies, such as archeological, servicing and environmental impact.
In an interview Friday, Lococo said while the council session in August was considered a public meeting because it was on the agenda, it didn’t go through the “normal notification” process where the public would have had a certain number of days’ notice, as is the case with the typical planning process.
“So, unless you saw it on the agenda, you wouldn’t have known. I am concerned. I think transparency is very important.”
During the meeting, representatives from the architecture, engineering, planning and technology firm IBI Group addressed politicians on behalf of two landowners in the area, Hospitality Resorts Inc. (the DiCosimo family) and Walker Aggregates.
Together, they own two parcels of land side by side totalling about 105 hectares, where a “world-class agritourism complex” is proposed, right on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment and on the south side of Mountain Road.
A parcel about 60.7 hectares immediately north and owned completely by Hospitality Resorts was not subject to the MZO because it’s in the escarpment development control area, but it was noted the developer would initiate those applications to the Niagara Escarpment Commission.
Lands on the south side of Mountain Road between Kalar and Garner roads are proposed to have agricultural vineyards, an 18-hole championship golf course, driving range, chip and putt, pro sport lounge, accessory structures, inn and spa, villas, lounge pool, tennis courts, restaurant and nature trails.
The escarpment lands, north of Mountain Road, are proposed to include vineyards, a winery and farmers market, an equestrian centre and riding trails, amphitheatre for intimate concerts providing a view of the Toronto skyline, hiker cabins and Bruce Trail connections.
Local environmentalist John Bacher said he wrote to the minister expressing opposition to the proposal and wasn’t notified that an MZO was issued. In fact, Bacher said he only knew about the development proposal in the first place because of an article in the Niagara Falls Review last summer.
“It just does not promote good planning,” he said of MZOs. “It promotes development in areas that can’t really be serviced by transit and unique farmland, natural areas. Almost everything that one is concerned about from the public good by land-use planning, this (MZO process) is offensive to.”
Diodati said MZOs are not “just willy-nilly issued like some might have you believe.”
“The idea is to remove the red tape because some things in government go at a snail’s pace, the opposite of the business world,” Diodati said.
“It’s kind of, I’ll call it, a meeting of the worlds — the business and the political world, where it’s not as fast as the business world would like, it’s not as slow as typically the government process is.”
He said while he believes farming is “really important,” the land hasn’t been extensively used for agriculture “in generations.”
Lococo said just because the land hasn’t been used for agriculture in some time doesn’t mean it can’t be used for that purpose in the future.
“We’re losing our agricultural land at a very fast pace, especially with some of the (recent provincial legislative) changes … so I am concerned.”