After years of relentless advocacy and sustained public pressure by residents of St. Catharines, the City has issued a sweeping Property Standards Order to the owners of the former General Motors site at 282-285 Ontario Street, contradicting false claims by Mayor Mat Siscoe who has repeatedly told frustrated stakeholders that council lacks the authority to force a clean up, which was blatantly misleading, as he has now been forced to admit.
Two similar orders were issued last week, one to clean up the decaying, crumbling structures on the east side of the street and one for the west side. Dated May 22, they acknowledge extensive dangerous and deteriorating conditions throughout the partially demolished industrial property, including structural instability, collapsed ceilings, corroded steel supports, unsafe stairways, unsecured openings, exposed hazards, debris and widespread deterioration.
The City’s decision to bring the former GM property into compliance with standards comes after years of advocacy by residents, community groups and neighbouring property owners who have warned that the abandoned site poses a serious risk to public safety. Concerns regarding trespassing, structural collapse, unsecured access points, environmental hazards, dangerous industrial spaces and the absence of meaningful site security have repeatedly been raised with City officials.
Only weeks ago, concerns surrounding the condition of the catwalk structure spanning Ontario Street, one of the...
After years of relentless advocacy and sustained public pressure by residents of St. Catharines, the City has issued a sweeping Property Standards Order to the owners of the former General Motors ...