Concerns persist about controversial hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake

A hotel development that sparked an outcry from some Niagara-on-the-Lake residents when it was narrowly approved by council earlier this year is still causing concern among some councillors, and one has moved a motion to review the project’s site plan in the future.

At a Sept. 24 council meeting, Coun. Sandra O’Connor moved a motion asking that council be permitted to view and comment on the site plan for a 129-room hotel that’s set to take shape on the site of the former Parliament Oak school.

The Two Sisters Resorts development was approved for a parcel of land at 325 King St. in the summer. According to multiple local media reports, some residents were outraged by the approval and held rallies and launched petitions to get councillors to reconsider their support.

Reports allege some irate residents heckled councillors during heated exchanges about the development’s fitness for the area. 

At the meeting, O’Connor’s motion said that since “serious concerns” have been raised regarding parking, stormwater management and more, council should see the site plan before it’s approved and be able to provide feedback. 

While O’Connor’s motion passed, Deputy Lord Mayor and Coun. Erwin Wiens said that site plans are highly technical and difficult for non-experts to interpret and that council cannot technically approve any plan that comes forward. 

“I know that council cannot approve the site plan, but this is just to see the site plan before staff approves it so we can have some input to let staff know how council feels on some critical issues. It’s not to get approval, no,” O’Connor told council. 

Coun. Gary Burroughs echoed O’Connor’s sentiments. 

“All we’re asking is the information come back to council for comment, not for voting,” he said. 

Wiens said he worried that passing the motion might give some residents opposed to the development “false hope” that the decision could be revisited. 

“Site plans are so highly technical that the average citizen or councillor or deputy mayor might not understand them,” he said, adding that the increased questions regarding the plan are connected to the highly “politicized” nature of the development’s approval and could further inflame the situation. 

“I am afraid that we may be giving a false sense of input to residents or to council. I won’t support this.”

According to the project’s website, the four-storey Parliament Oak Hotel will, once completed, boast a restaurant and bar and private event spaces. A town document says the hotel will also feature a patio, spa, banquet and conference facilities and retail space. 

On the hotel’s website, which does not appear to have been updated since the project was approved on June 25, developers say it will enhance tourism and will be integrated into the “existing Old Town streetscape.” 

The website also says the hotel will feature landscaped green space and offer “new possibilities for recreation and hospitality while preserving and reflecting the heritage of Old Town.” 

Some residents’ groups have continued to share concerns about the project. Before the development was approved, the Niagara Foundation said it was not compatible with the area and would keep community members from using space that should be theirs.

“It will drastically and permanently reduce the amount of land where residents (current and future) access community services, and where residents learn, experience traditions and build culture in their community,” the foundation said on its website.

The foundation argued that community space (often used to host festivals and events) is already limited, with only the former hospital site on Wellington Street set aside for community use, and that NOTL is already well-served by various hotels and lodgings for tourists, 

“Niagara-on-the-Lake is also growing as a community and will need more space in future to experience itself, continue traditions and create culture. A complete community needs room to exist,” the website reads.

The development’s site says the project will bring more people to the popular tourist destination while respecting the town’s heritage. 

“The development has the potential to deliver symbiotic benefit to both the town and the broader Niagara Region tourism industry, including a new opportunity to provide care and maintenance of the grounds and the opportunity to animate the King Street frontage,” the website reads.  

“The site is within 200 meters of the Niagara-on-the-Lake museum and will support the town’s tourism and history industry.”

All renderings from the Parliament Oak Hotel and Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake websites