Deputation May 1 2008 V2

Harmony Residents Group Presentation to Niagara Regional Council 8/27/2008

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Who We Are • NOTL residents. • Concerned citizens with a goal of ensuring that any development on the Parks Canada property on Lakeshore Road is done in harmony with the natural and historical significance of the site.

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Project Niagara Offers a Compelling Vision for Niagara • World class cultural destination • Enhanced image … “Canada’s Music Garden” • Welcome economic development • Additional revenues for Town and Region businesses 8/27/2008

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But There Are Concerns With Project Niagara 1. Environment 2. Impact on residents 3. Costs 4. Benefits

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We Are Therefore Asking All Levels of Government To Be Proactive 1. To ensure the land can be developed in a way that is respectful of the natural and historic sites, that is environmentally sound, and that has a neutral impact to the flora and fauna. 2. To ensure the proposed music festival has a neutral impact on the quality of life of NOTL residents. 3. To ensure the proposed festival is neutral-topositive for Niagara ratepayers. 4. To ensure the potential benefits are quantified and confirmed as achievable. 8/27/2008

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Niagara Region Has Identified the Cost Impact of Project Niagara •

$20m – $15m for sewage lagoon removal and replacement with new facilities – $5m for road improvements

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But We Wonder … Are These All the Costs? • •

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Land purchase and construction of shuttle parking lots. The 2004 Transportation Master Plan for NOTL identified $40m over 20 years were required to address then-current issues. Would Project Niagara not require these expenditures to be brought forward? Have the impacts to the Region’s waste management and recycling programs been assessed? In addition, costs to the Town of NOTL have not yet been identified.

Whatever the final amount, Region ratepayers should not foot the bill. 8/27/2008

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Requested Action Regarding Project Niagara 1. Quantify – and validate – benefits. 2. Confirm cost impacts. 3. Negotiate with other stakeholders to offset costs to the Region and its ratepayers. 4. Satisfy yourselves – and your constituents – that there isn’t a better location in the region. 8/27/2008

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Appendix

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Our Concerns 1.

The potential for a negative environmental impact on the site. Our rural land is one of the most heavily deforested parts of the province—Niagara-on-the-Lake has only 2% forest cover. The Lake Ontario plain forests are a rare type of ecosystem, and the Carolinian forest on this site is home to endangered plant species. The entire site is also an established habitat for a variety of wildlife, including numerous bird and animal species. It includes a wetland and heron rookery at Four Mile Creek Pond. The proposed music festival has the potential to threaten these precious natural resources. It would also eliminate the possibility of ecological restoration, forest enhancement or development of the sewage lagoons into wetland or marsh areas. Approval of Project Niagara would also preclude opening this site to the residents as parkland. Current Project Niagara plans involve: – –

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Constructing two amphitheatres, a restaurant, a VIP café, a concession area, event space and kitchen areas, a gift shop and wine store, picnic areas and paths, washrooms to serve 10,000 people, administration and maintenance areas. Allowing concentrated human traffic over the site (Note: pathways through the Carolinian forest and access to the battlefield site are not yet determined). Anticipated concert attendance is 4,000 per performance, with five performances a week for 12 weeks. Project Niagara has projected total attendance of at least 250,000 per season, and indicated this would include “a few” concerts per year with attendance of 9,000 to 12,000. Paving several acres to park approximately 2000 cars and to provide a shuttle drop-off area for concert-goers parking elsewhere.

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Our Concerns 2.

The potential for a detrimental impact on Niagara-on-the-Lake residents. Additional visitors to Niagara-on-the-Lake would bring welcome tourism revenue, but they will also create problems that must be addressed, including congestion, increased degradation of the roads and a certain amount of litter. On concert days during the 12-week festival, Project Niagara would draw approximately 2.5 times the number of people already visiting to attend the Shaw. Project Niagara could have a detrimental effect on Niagara-on-the-Lake residents in the following areas: –

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Traffic and parking: Our congested roads and inadequate parking already make getting around town a source of frustration to residents and visitors alike. This is especially true during the peak summer months, during which the festival would run. Traffic infiltration and parking in residential areas are already a concern. Adding at least 2,000 cars five days a week (those parking at the site) would substantially increase these problems. The remaining concert-goers would park at as-yet undetermined lots in and around Niagaraon-the-Lake and be transported to the site by shuttles. This car and shuttle traffic would further aggravate these problems. Safety and security: A heavy concentration of traffic along Lakeshore Road, Concession 6, Highway 55 and alternative access routes during the brief period of time before and after performances would create an unprecedented ‘rush hour.’ This could pose a significant safety problem and make it difficult for residents along these roads to enter or leave their driveways. Additional police officers would be necessary to keep the heavy traffic moving. In addition, illegal parking is likely to be a problem, as some concert-goers will feel a parking ticket is a reasonable price to pay for a parking spot close to the concert site.

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Our Concerns –

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Road maintenance: Increasing traffic density on the existing road system in Niagara-onthe-Lake will speed deterioration of road surfaces and increase overall costs of maintaining existing roads. In addition, traffic management tactics such as signage, traffic lights, widening existing roads or constructing new ones will increase road maintenance costs. Waste management: The construction of washrooms for 10,000 people will substantially increase sewage treatment requirements for the new sewage treatment system. In addition, the anticipated concert attendance plus Project Niagara plans to promote the site as a full-day experience, encouraging family picnics on the site, will create large amounts of litter, both on the site and in other areas, challenging our waste management and recycling programs. Litter is already an eyesore in the Old Town. On the site, plastic and metal litter could be hazardous to wildlife

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Our Concerns 3.

The potential for costs to be borne by the Region and Town: Sources for financing the projected initial $60 million investment to develop Project Niagara have been reported as $20 million from the federal government, $20 million from provincial funding, and $20 million from fundraising among private donors. Our understanding is that these estimates do not include the cost of upgrading existing roads or constructing new ones. Project Niagara indicates that the music festival will be self supporting. However, costs for managing associated services, such as policing, road construction and maintenance, and increased sewage treatment capacity would likely fall to the Region and Town, by diverting funds from needed projects, or by deferring planned projects or services. It is also worth noting that arts and cultural organizations, such as the Shaw Festival, do not pay local taxes. It is not yet clear what, if any, tax revenues Project Niagara would generate for the Region and Town. It is expected that these costs would be borne by residents.

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Our Concerns 4.

The potential for promised benefits to be overstated or erroneous: Project Niagara estimates of total attendance at a summer concert season (250,000– 300,000) are based on calculations using the number of individuals living within an 8-hour drive of Niagara-on-the-Lake; the percentage of this population expressing interest in attending such an event (market research surveys); and assumptions about the percentage of interested individuals who would actually attend the music festival. These visitors are expected to bring increased revenue to local retail and hospitality businesses; increased attendance at the Shaw Festival; and increased employment. a.

Increased visitors and increased revenue: As no data are available from either Project Niagara or other sources, we do not know whether attendance projections take the following risks into account: I. II.

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The music festival does not draw the anticipated attendance: A new festival may not draw large audiences until consistently good reviews of the performances and the total experience have circulated, a process that could take several years. Festival visitors spend all their time at the concert site and do not patronize local businesses. Festival promotion of a complete experience and the availability of picnic sites, restaurants, a wine store and other amenities on site make this a likely option for at least some visitors. In addition, using shuttles to transport visitors from offsite parking lots to the festival makes it more difficult for concert goers to visit other attractions.

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Our Concerns III.

The music festival draws its attendance largely from existing visitors to the Region. Many regular visitors to the Shaw would likely be interested in attending classical concerts. However, if they decide to attend one concert and one play, rather than two plays, their spending would be divided between the town and the music festival, thus potentially decreasing Shaw revenue, without increasing revenues to restaurants or hotels. IV. Current economic factors continue to decrease spending and tourism in Niagara, especially American tourism. These factors include the American recession, a low American dollar relative to the Canadian dollar, spiralling gasoline costs and rising air travel costs. Any of these factors could mean that anticipated increases in visitors and revenue do not materialize.

b.

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Increased employment: Approval of Project Niagara will bring construction-related jobs to the area during the time the site is being developed. Once the festival is underway, parttime, seasonal, low-paying jobs will meet the festival’s needs for servers, ushers, cooks, parking attendants, and other staff. Well-paid jobs associated with the festival are primarily those of the orchestras and other performers, who are generally not based in the area. Project Niagara will create a small number of festival management positions, but substantial job creation is unlikely.

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