City taking hands off approach to clear dangers at former GM site in St. Catharines

Many of the toxic risks posed by the former GM site on Ontario Street in St. Catharines are clear. 

As previously reported by The Pointer, Environmental Site Assessments obtained after a two-year fight with the City and GM officials who fought to keep the documents hidden from public view, revealed contamination of a number of harmful substances at levels that exceeded established limits by thousands of times when the studies were undertaken in 2010 and 2012. The long list of chemicals found at the site, accumulated over the past 100 years of heavy industrial use on the lands, are linked to a wide range of serious human health risks. A number of current and former residents of the neighbourhoods surrounding the GM site have contacted The Pointer since the initial investigation was published, claiming the toxins made them, or a friend or family member sick with cancer or other maladies. 

The current state of the soil and groundwater and the risks posed to nearby residents remains mostly a mystery as no updated studies have been completed over the last decade and Movengo, the current owner of the site, ceased studies on the property, unwilling to pay for the critical research necessary to determine whether it can ever be used for residential development, which the city’s elected officials and Movengo have tried to push through. 

What is not a mystery is the pressing danger the site poses to anyone on the easily accessible property.

The Environmental Site Assessments detail a network of subterranean vats and former storage tanks previously used to hold dangerous chemicals, as well as channels and mechanisms meant to control the flow of these substances used in various processes to manufacture autoparts. 

Multiple entrances to these industrial catacombs are open for anyone who wanders onto the site. 

 Multiple locations on the former GM property have exposed manhole covers. Some are wide open, others are only covered with a piece of unsecured sheet metal.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

Situated in the very heart of the city, surrounded by residential homes and small businesses, and positioned along the main thoroughfare to the downtown core, the decaying site has a strikingly negative visual impact on the community, but the potential surface and subsurface dangers it poses far outweigh its aesthetic blight.

From the roadside one of the most obvious risks is the large metal catwalk that spans across Ontario Street. Originally constructed to facilitate the movement of materials and personnel between different sections of the 55-acre manufacturing facility, it is suspended above one of the major vehicle and pedestrian thoroughfares in the city. It is uncertain who, if anybody, inspects it regularly. The partial destruction and creeping deterioration of the buildings it is anchored to are clearly evident.

The City of St. Catharines says the catwalk spanning Ontario Street was last inspected in 2021.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

Responsibility for ensuring the structural integrity of the catwalk and all buildings on the site normally rests with St. Catharines Planning and Building Services (PBS). This department oversees bylaw enforcement, including property standards to uphold community safety. As a vacant, non-residential property, a City bylaw officer is authorized to inspect the site “at any reasonable time without prior notice and without a warrant.” This authority comes from the provincial Building Code and extends to the entire property, not just the catwalk. If an inspector encounters risks beyond their expertise, provincial law allows them to engage qualified subject matter experts to assist in the inspection.

In response to inquiries from The Pointer, Tami Kitay, Director of Planning and Building Services, stated the former GM buildings are exempt from enforcement of bylaws. 

“Property standard enforcement is held in abeyance at properties where there are active demolition permits issued,” she stated. “Demolition activities at these properties have commenced and accordingly, the properties are considered active demolition sites.”

She said there is no current inspection regime to ensure the structural integrity of the catwalk. 

“As these are active demolition sites, it is expected that, during the course of demolition, the building structures will be compromised. Property Standards enforcement would be at odds with the eventual demolition of the buildings/structures (i.e., why would the City initiate enforcement to restore deteriorated buildings/structures when they are in the process of being razed?)."

The description of the property as an “active demolition site” is somewhat misleading. The majority of the demolition work that has been done to date occurred nearly ten years ago, only scattered demolition activities have occurred sporadically in recent years. The state of Movengo’s current demolition plans remains unclear. 

Since the last inspection of the catwalk was done in 2021 (it was presumably sound at that time) nothing is known about its current state.

Just as the City has the authority to issue demolition permits, it also holds the power to revoke them. Under the Ontario Building Code Act, permits can be revoked for several reasons, including:

• The permit was issued based on false or incorrect information.
• The work has not, in the opinion of the chief building inspector, been meaningfully started within six months.
• Demolition work has been suspended for more than a year.

Despite limited work occurring on the site, St. Catharines has not revoked the permits. 

The primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of the site does not rest solely with the City. While the City serves as the governing authority, the first line of accountability lies with the landowner.

“The Owner of a Vacant Building shall protect the Vacant Building and Property against the risk of fire, storm, neglect, intentional damage or damage by other causes by effectively preventing the entrance of the elements, unauthorized persons or the infestation of pests by boarding up and securing any openings with appropriate materials including wood or plexiglass,” the City’s property standards bylaw states.
 

According to City bylaws the property owner is responsible to ensure any vacant property is effectively boarded up to protect the community. The City has the power to enforce these bylaws.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

When the owner becomes negligent in their duties the responsibility to protect the public falls back to the City. The inspecting bylaw officer can make an Order to be served on the property owner to rectify the dangers observed. If the owner fails to take action the City has the power to take the appropriate actions itself, including repairing or demolishing buildings, and placing a lien on the property in order to recover the costs. The bylaw and provincial policy go even further making it clear that the city can also: “clear the site of all buildings or structures and leave the site in a graded and levelled condition; (or) make the site safe or impede entry by erecting fences, barricades or barriers; and/or cause a prosecution to be brought”.

The demolition permits for the site were issued in December of 2022 amid revised hopes that Movengo, the site's mortgage holders, would finally be starting a focussed demolition and re-development effort. More than two years later nothing substantial has happened. In May 2024, the developer announced a halt to work on the site because of “unfavourable market conditions”, and there have been no updates on when, or if, work might restart.

Movengo did not respond to questions from The Pointer.

Glenn Brooks and his partner Susan Rosebrugh live in a rental property that abuts the former industrial site. In 2020 Brooks was diagnosed with breast cancer. He speaks openly about the fact that doctors found no genetic pre-disposition to this type of cancer and informed him that he likely got the disease through some kind of environmental exposure. They are vocal advocates for a thorough clean up of the GM site.

“It's hard to believe that the City is not using its enforcement powers to move the surface clean up of the GM (site) forward,” Brooks told The Pointer. “The abandoned structures there at the very least are dangerous and coupled with the fact the gates are left open continually, is a recipe for disaster either for the homeless seeking shelter or teenagers seeking adventures. As someone who observes daily the lack of movement by the City or anyone else to remove these buildings I can only shake my head in disgust at how long this has gone on unaddressed.”

Brooks is highlighting concerns often voiced within the community: the openness of the site, its appeal to adventurous youth and its practical draw for those seeking shelter. The lands are pockmarked with hazards that might draw people for one reason or another, while masking threats that could prove disastrous. 

The main gate to the West side (above) pictured over the weekend, blown open by the wind and snow. The gate is regularly unsecured, allowing easy access to the dangerous site. The gate to the East property was also open over the weekend (below).

(Ed Smith/The Pointer)

A walk around the perimeter identifies a handful of easy entry points to the site, none of which involve climbing fences or walls or squeezing through windows. When you do encounter a gate that might be closed, it is not locked and can easily be swung open. Other gates are simply left ajar. There are numerous dangers to encounter on the site. 

Open manholes that drop 30 to 40 feet; full access to underground chambers of industrial pipes and tanks, open buildings with broken windows, hanging pipes; 55-gallon drums labeled with hazard warnings. 

What appears to be an access hatch to the former tilt plate separator—a mechanism used to separate oil from the groundwater, is located outside the barrier fencing, open to anyone willing to climb up the hill from Twelve Mile Creek. Standing above the dark hatch, there is a ladder that disappears down into the darkness. There is a chemical smell and running water can be heard. Anyone curious enough could easily gain access.

This hatch, to what is believed to be the former tilt plate separator, is located outside the barrier fencing at the Ontario Street property. A public pathway and a homeless encampment can be seen in the background of the photo.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

David Upper, the Fire Chief for St. Catharines told The Pointer there were four calls to the site in 2023 and seven last year—mostly for reports of fire or smoke coming from the buildings. Residents living around the site have reported to The Pointer that people seeking shelter have often started fires to keep warm in the buildings.

“Fortunately there were no injuries to civilians or firefighters” in any instances of responding to fires at the site, Chief Upper said. He confirmed that the fires typically are being used for warmth by unhoused people.

“Access to the properties has been restricted by hoarding installed along the property perimeters and video surveillance cameras have been installed to monitor any activity at the properties. Non-authorized access to the subject properties are subject to criminal trespass laws enforced by the Niagara Regional Police Service,” Kitay told The Pointer. “It is my understanding that there have been isolated occurrences where the hoarding has been breached. In these instances, the owner has quickly restored the hoarding to ensure access to the properties has been reasonably prevented.”

Despite this assurance, it's abundantly clear the site is easily accessible, and the risks this partially demolished structure poses are numerous. Yet no action is being taken by the City. 

The municipality has the authority to act, yet defers and appears hesitant to use the powers it plainly has.

Residents and businesses in the area have long fought to have the former GM site razed. After its closure in 2010, Bayshore Group purchased the property in 2014, raising hopes for redevelopment. Instead, the company sold off equipment, abandoned progress, and left the site partially demolished and hazardous. In 2020, Movengo Corporation, the mortgage holder, took over and announced new plans for the site, but they also have now halted any work, citing unfavorable market conditions.

It’s unclear how a senior staff member at the City like Kitay could claim the site is undergoing active demolition knowing the history of negligence of the former owner of the property. Even when work was underway on the site, it was a struggle to force the former owners to meet basic safety standards. 

The City eventually had to take Bayshore to court in what it described as a “string of legal actions” over its failure to meet obligations. 

A previous City report revealed that, “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.”

An email received by The Pointer through a Freedom of Information request exposed the cozy relationship between the former owner and the former mayor. It shows that steps to try and ensure even basic measures like dust control were difficult to meet. 

Emails show the relationship between former mayor Walter Sendzik and head of Bayshore Group Robert Megna, who used his influence to pressure City staff.

(FOI documents from City of St. Catharines)

In total, Bayshore was ordered to pay $140,000 in fines, on top of other costs that St. Catharines taxpayers had to cover due to the company’s negligence in looking after the site properly and failure to meet Building Code rules. The company eventually pleaded guilty to at least 42 charges.

The City of St. Catharines has consistently stated that cleaning up the former GM site is a top priority, however, according to officials, their actions are limited because the property is privately owned and is an active demolition site. In a recent email to The Pointer, CAO David Oakes noted: “While we have developed an action plan to address those issues (site cleanup) within our authority, as a private property, the City is limited in our abilities to force actions.”

Similarly, the City’s website explains, “Like any private property, the City cannot unilaterally act to clean up the site on our own.” 

These statements stand in stark contrast to property standards bylaws and provincial laws that grant municipalities powers to address hazardous or derelict properties for the safety of the community.

As the Building Code states, if a municipality finds a site poses “an immediate danger to the health or safety of any person, (it) may make an order containing particulars of the non-conformity and require remedial repairs or other work to be carried out immediately to terminate the danger.”

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