FORT ERIE, Ont. — A report from Town of Fort Erie planners published Monday recommends

a zoning change to permit the building of a 12-story condominium in Crystal Beach.

The report comes one week before the Town Council is scheduled to vote on the contested

issue.

The expected recommendation for the Crystal Beach Gateway Project at 4155 Erie Road, which

has the support of the mayor and a majority of Town Council members, includes a second

favorable report from independent planner Ron Palmer.

The vote next Monday to raise the current height limit from 2 stories is opposed by

critics, including many Buffalonians who have maintained cottages since long before Crystal

Beach Amusement Park closed in 1989. They say the condominium would be out of scale and do

irrevocable harm to the town's beachfront charm.

Proponents point out that the public will continue to have access to the public beach, and contend

that the 87 upscale units will bring in residents who will add to the tax rolls, shop at local

businesses and bring more vitality to the community year-round.

In return for ownership of what is now public beach property, the Molinaro Group of

Burlington, Ont., has offered to provide several public amenities, including a public

promenade, municipal pavilion, open-air plaza and public washrooms and change rooms.

The report says the condominium project would provide financial help for Crystal Beach,

whose household income is 20 percent lower than the rest of Fort Erie. Crystal Beach's

population of 3,570 swells by 1,325 residents in the summer, the report said, 75 percent of

them Americans.

The planners calculate the new residents would add $184,000 to the tax rolls, with

commercial properties bringing another $6,000 to $12,000.

Palmer, in his 48-page report, said the development "represents good planning and is in the

public interest."



About 200 sharply divided opinions — which ran 4-to-1 in opposition — appear

from the comment period surrounding the Jan. 25 Council meeting.

"Right now the village of Crystal Beach has something that no other community in Ontario

has," wrote Barbara Carlson of nearby Ridgeway. "Why make it a cookie-cutter, urban-looking

destination? Families are looking for nature. Once this landscape is changed, it is changed

forever."



"I can't believe this town would be so shortsighted as to give away our last part of the

lakefront," said Bob McDade of Crystal Beach. "I have sailed my boat to every port on Lake

Ontario, on both sides, and the ones who protect their waterfront draw the most tourists."



However, Peter Koutroulakis, owner of Old Bank Bistro and Bar in Fort Erie, hailed the

project. "The Molinaro plan is just the catalyst that many of us, in both the business and

residential sectors, have been waiting for. We all must turn a new leaf for a better and more

progressive Fort Erie."



Added Judith Carter, of Crystal Beach: "It should have happened a long time ago; I'd be

living there now. I look forward to purchasing one for my retirement, and my son's future."



Also on Monday, Rino Mostacchi, director of community and development services, said the

town has been allowed by three agencies to bypass a full environmental impact study. Instead,

its review will focus on preserving habitat for the endangered Fowler's toad.