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| CRYSTAL BEACH TO BE RENAMED MO-TOWN? |
As in MO (linaro) Town. According to a member of the public who attended the Open House for the Molnaro
Proposal for the Bay Beach Properties, the Molinaro Group is currently in negotiations to buy the parking lot that
stretches along several blocks on Erie Road.
"Over 80 units are planned, 1.5 cars per unit, $180,000 for a one bedroom on the
lowest floor (facing Erie Road) and the price and will go up from there. The
proposed prices do not include parking. They hope to get an agreement with the
town to average less that 1.5 cars per condo. Spill over parking will go into the town
owned lots. I see parking as a major issue if this is built."
The Molinaros may also be hedging their bet as the recent OMB ruling in The Beaches area on Toronto
has set a precent that will be used by citizen groups to stop waterfront development that does not fit in the
general tone and character of the community.
Another alert reader sent me this article, from the archives of the Fort Erie Times:
Pilot project aims to maintain Crystal Beach’s ‘cottage community’ look
Posted By Mark Ladan
Posted 2 years ago
To ensure cottage-like look of the old village of Crystal Beach, Fort Erie Town council is moving ahead
with something called a Development Permit System (DPS).
The first step in the pilot project is to develop regulations that must be adhered by builders and
homeowners, when doing any work on a home or commercial building that requires a building permit. At
its Monday meeting, council approved a staff recommendation to send out a request for proposal to
companies that are experienced in developing such regulations.
Staff estimates developing the regulations will cost about $20,000.
In the case of Crystal Beach, the regulations would likely require that new homes or renovation projects to
stick with “cottage-type” designs, including a certain range of exterior colours and building materials.
If the pilot project is successful, it could be implemented in other neighbourhoods in Greater Fort Erie.
All members of council, with the exception of Ward 3 Coun. Bob Steckley, voted in favour of proceeding
with the pilot project. He said he’s not necessarily opposed to it, but felt staff hadn’t provided enough
detail to council to make an informed decision.
“I’m against the fact that we were requesting additional information on it as far as what legalities we have
to make sure that the ideas of the report get carried forward and don’t get lost. We’re going to spend
$20,000, I want to make sure that we can uphold the letter of the law. We had asked for additional
information, it wouldn’t have taken more than a week to get.”
Part of the additional information requested was how many homes per year would fall under the DPS
guidelines. The community and development services department reports that the 10-year average for
new home starts in Crystal Beach is 17 units.
DPS has been tried in a couple other of municipalities, including downtown Hamilton. Mostacci told
council that system was shelved there, because there were too many requests for variances.
It was also tried in the Muskoka community of Lake of Bays, but Mostacci was unsure as to how it was
received there.
Proposal for the Bay Beach Properties, the Molinaro Group is currently in negotiations to buy the parking lot that
stretches along several blocks on Erie Road.
"Over 80 units are planned, 1.5 cars per unit, $180,000 for a one bedroom on the
lowest floor (facing Erie Road) and the price and will go up from there. The
proposed prices do not include parking. They hope to get an agreement with the
town to average less that 1.5 cars per condo. Spill over parking will go into the town
owned lots. I see parking as a major issue if this is built."
The Molinaros may also be hedging their bet as the recent OMB ruling in The Beaches area on Toronto
has set a precent that will be used by citizen groups to stop waterfront development that does not fit in the
general tone and character of the community.
Another alert reader sent me this article, from the archives of the Fort Erie Times:
Pilot project aims to maintain Crystal Beach’s ‘cottage community’ look
Posted By Mark Ladan
Posted 2 years ago
To ensure cottage-like look of the old village of Crystal Beach, Fort Erie Town council is moving ahead
with something called a Development Permit System (DPS).
The first step in the pilot project is to develop regulations that must be adhered by builders and
homeowners, when doing any work on a home or commercial building that requires a building permit. At
its Monday meeting, council approved a staff recommendation to send out a request for proposal to
companies that are experienced in developing such regulations.
Staff estimates developing the regulations will cost about $20,000.
In the case of Crystal Beach, the regulations would likely require that new homes or renovation projects to
stick with “cottage-type” designs, including a certain range of exterior colours and building materials.
If the pilot project is successful, it could be implemented in other neighbourhoods in Greater Fort Erie.
All members of council, with the exception of Ward 3 Coun. Bob Steckley, voted in favour of proceeding
with the pilot project. He said he’s not necessarily opposed to it, but felt staff hadn’t provided enough
detail to council to make an informed decision.
“I’m against the fact that we were requesting additional information on it as far as what legalities we have
to make sure that the ideas of the report get carried forward and don’t get lost. We’re going to spend
$20,000, I want to make sure that we can uphold the letter of the law. We had asked for additional
information, it wouldn’t have taken more than a week to get.”
Part of the additional information requested was how many homes per year would fall under the DPS
guidelines. The community and development services department reports that the 10-year average for
new home starts in Crystal Beach is 17 units.
DPS has been tried in a couple other of municipalities, including downtown Hamilton. Mostacci told
council that system was shelved there, because there were too many requests for variances.
It was also tried in the Muskoka community of Lake of Bays, but Mostacci was unsure as to how it was
received there.
I refer to the plan for Bay Beach as the Mo-dinero Plan, but
someone else said that Crystal Beach may soon be named
Mo-Town, home of R&B. She says we're losing our rhythm and
soon we'll have the blues.
someone else said that Crystal Beach may soon be named
Mo-Town, home of R&B. She says we're losing our rhythm and
soon we'll have the blues.