“We could be setting a terrible precedent if we approve this (waiver).” – St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman
A News Brief by Doug Draper With More News and Commentary To Come On This In Days Ahead
St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman was a leader in the fight not to have the development charge waived.
At a Niagara Regional Council meeting this November 20th, a majority of councillors voted to waive more than $900,000 in development charges for underground parking a developer – Two Sisters Resorts Corp. – is including at hotel being built in the scenic Old Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The approval was granted despite concerns raised by St. Catharines Regional Councillors Haley Bateman and Brian Heit, along with a handful of councillors from other area municipalities that waiving the development charges means that every property taxpayer across Niagara will be left making up the difference at a time when property taxes have already become such a burden for so many.
If the more than $900.000 in development charges doesn’t come from the developer, will it come from everyday ratepayers, “yes or no.” Welland Regional Councillor Leanna Villella asked.
“I don’t know,” was the response that came from the Region’s chief administrative officer (CA) Ron Tripp.
If taxpayers across Niagara end up covering any development charges charges that are waived for the hotel’s parking lot, “I have a problem with that,” said Fort Erie Regional Councillor Tom Insinna, who added that he would like any decision on the mattered deferred until regional staff can come back to council with clearer answers on who would and should pay.
But a majority on the council voted to waive the development charge anyway with Niagara-on-the-Lake Regional Councillor and Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa leading that fight.
“Some of the more aggressive public commentary (for not waiving the charges) is really uncalled for,” insisted Zalepa, who went on to say that it took the town months to work with the developer and residents in the area where the hotel is being built to come up with a solution, which turned out to be underground parking, to concerns about the loss of green space around the hotel for parking or the possibility of too many hotel patrons’ cars parked on residential streets.
Tom Richardson (on the left), the lawyer for hotel developer Two Sisters Resorts Corp., and Niagara-on-the-Lake Regional Councillor and Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa and made the case for removing the development charge on the underground parking lot.
St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman and others remained adamant though that it is unfair to make the rest of us who own homes and businesses across the region to be covering the charges that a developer should pay.
“We could be setting a terrible precedent if we approve this,” said Bateman of what turned out to be a successful bid by the developer to have the charge waived.
Bateman told Niagara At Large that in a few days leading up to the November 20th Regional Council meeting, she received more than 100 emails from Niagara residents opposed to waiving the development charge.
Niagara At Large will have more on this, including a complete list of regional councillors who voted for and against the development charges, in the days ahead.
For a recent commentary on this issue, posted in Niagara At Large, click on the following link – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2025/11/20/dont-let-our-niagara-regional-councillors-make-us-subsidize-the-costs-of-big-developers/
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Niagara At Large 
This shouldn’t surprise the taxpayers of Niagara. This isn’t the first time that $900,000 has been wasted. If you remember not that many years ago we had Regional Councilor Bob Gale and company make a sweetheart deal to get rid of Niagara Region Police Chief Jeff McGuire and that cost the taxpayer $870,000 plus the police service vehicle, cell phone, computer and benefits. Round that off and that was another $900,000. The best part about this is there are rumors that the Premier is going to pick Bob Gale to replace Jim Bradley to be the new chair of the region. All I can say is ………………… BUCKLE UP. https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-hamilton-spectator/20180202/281590946007674
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What on earth is the rational for this private corporation to not pay required fees Oh, let me guess. It threatened not to build the property or to build somewhere else, and then look at all the future tax revenue that woukd be lost. So fine. Let them go elsewhere. If the public sector is going to subsidize private projects to this extent, why doesn’t government simply take over and operate the projects itself?
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