Spa, resort could be new use for old quarry
Posted By KARENA WALTER
A plan to turn the defunct Lefarge Canada quarry into a resort, spa and golf course mecca is now in the hands of the Niagara Escarpment Commission.
Commission members heard the proposal Thursday at a meeting in Georgetown, but have deferred a decision until they tour the 248-acre property at Stanley Avenue and the QEW in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
At issue is the resort component of the proposal. Other uses in the $50-million plan, such as a winery and trails, are permitted.
“I think we provided a very good summary of the master plan,” said Frank Racioppo, president of the Queenston Quarry Reclamation Company.
“I think it went well, in that all the community stakeholders took the time to come out and express their support.”
Commission members heard presentations Thursday by three neighbouring property owners, Niagara-on-the-Lake Lord Mayor Gary Burroughs and chamber of commerce executive director Janice Thomson, all of whom supported the project.
Racioppo said letters of support came from the School of Restoration Arts at Willowbank, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Conservancy and the Niagara Economic Development Corp., as well as from other neighbours.
The commission deferred until May or June a decision on whether to initiate an amendment to the Niagara Escarpment Plan, required for the resort component of the project.
“It’s a big proposal,” said commission spokesman Richard Murzin Friday. “They wanted some additional time to consider and some of them want to take a look at the site itself.”
Murzin said the commission received a lot of letters in favour of the proposal and one e-mail in opposition.
Racioppo said he was pleased commission members want to see the site.
He said the plan was created using the highest environmentally sensitive design principles.
“It’s taken us two years to get to this point,” Racioppo said.
The plan calls for reducing the expanse of asphalt surfaces with underground parking.
There would also be a rooftop garden on part of the resort, walking trails, cycling paths, ponds, streams and a waterfall.
Niagara-on-the-Lake town council backed the proposal in March.
Article ID# 994253
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