Owner of industrial lands in St. Catharines continues to lose legal battles against city

The owner of industrial lands on Ontario Street is not faring well in court against St. Catharines.

On January 14, the numbered corporation, 2390541 Ontario Inc., and its directors plead guilty to two charges each under the city’s Building Code Act and four charges each under the city’s City’s Waste By-law for the property at 282-285 Ontario Street.

The Building Code charges come as a result of the February 2021 demolition of the smokestack on the property without a permit.

The Waste By-law charges were laid due to the owners’ failure to test, remove and dispose of debris from the property back in November 2020.

The penalty for these most recent charges will cost 2390541 Ontario Inc. $60,000 in fines within the next year, bringing the total fines and penalties levelled against the property owners up to $140,000.

“These most recent legal successes are a key part of a larger action plan to rectify issues and concerns with the property, including efforts to update our by-laws to better address problematic properties and ensure property owners are held accountable for their impacts on neighbourhoods and the environment,” said Tami Kitay, the city’s Director of Planning and Building Services.

In April 2021, the property owners pleaded guilty at Provincial Offences Court to 13 charges under the Building Code Act for failure to provide a schedule of all required inspections listed on permits issued for the property and failure to submit general reviews from a professional engineer. That cost them $25,000.

At the same time, the owners pleaded guilty to two charges under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act related to failure to properly securing a vacant building, which cost them $10,000.

Additionally, in December 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, ruled that the owners are required to pay $45,000 to cover the City’s costs to secure the property through Emergency Orders under the Building Code Act.