Owners of abandoned former GM plants in St. Catharines, Ont., appeal cleanup orders

The company that owns the former General Motors site in St. Catharines, Ont., is challenging city orders to clean up building hazards found at the long-abandoned property, arguing the timeline to meet the orders is “not reasonable”.

The numbered company, a subsidiary of local developer BayShore Groups, has filed a notice of appeal to Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, asking a judge to rescind the orders or extend the deadline to complete the cleanup to June 30, 2027.

The city had originally given the company a deadline of June 12, 2026 to repair or demolish hazardous buildings on the property. After further review, the city’s Property Standards Committee extended that deadline by an additional 120 days, giving the company until Oct. 23, 2026 to satisfy the order.

In the notice of appeal, the company said work required to comply with the “Orders is complex and extensive and, as such, the listed repairs require careful review and analysis before commencing any work.”

It goes on to say the timelines to comply to the order “even as extended by the Committee” are “not reasonable and do not allow the Owner a sufficient opportunity to fully assess the Orders and provide a substantive response.”

“Further, the timelines do not maintain the general intent and purpose of the by-law given the complicated nature, extent and sequencing of the required work and, more specifically, given the need to engage competing regulatory agencies,” the appeal notice said.

The appeal hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13 at the St. Catharines courthouse.

City has received complaints for years

For over 10 years, residents living near the site have raised concerns about the former auto manufacturing site, which is about the size of 41 American football fields.

The city previously recieved complaints from residents of “doors being propped open” at the West Plant at 285 Ontario St., as well as a gate open at the East Plant at 282 Ontario St., St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe previously told CBC in an email. 

According to the notice of appeal, a city property standards inspector visited the site on May 22, noting a list of hazards at the site’s two buildings which included deteriorating roof and exterior structures, missing and damaged walls, broken windows, and accumulated waste, debris and loose materials.

Owners dragging their feet, resident says

Since 2019, a group of concerned residents known as the Coalition for a Better St. Catharines has pushed for the remediation and cleanup of the 22-hectare site.

“This property owner has pushed back every time the city has tried to enforce violations,” said Dennis Edell, who co-founded the coalition.

“You’ve got these dilapidated buildings that are falling down as per the property standards inspection,” said Edell. “You’ve got urban explorers and trespassers in the site… It’s dangerous.”

“[The owners have] just been dragging [their] feet on this whole thing.”

The coalition has applied for standing at the appeal hearing next month.