October 16, 2001
For Immediate Release

"Tourism on the Niagara Escarpment is booming," said Jason Thorne, Executive Director of CONE. "We want that to continue, but it can't be at the expense of the natural environment and agricultural heritage that is the very basis for the Escarpment's tourism industry."

The five-year review of the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP) is a legal requirement that was initiated by Minister of Natural Resources John Snobelen in 1999. The NEP is the province's land use plan which has been regulating development on the Escarpment from Niagara Falls to Tobermory since 1985. The review tribunal conducted public hearings across the Escarpment and received submissions from 104 organizations and individuals. A common theme throughout the 165-page report was supporting tourism at the same time as maintaining the Plan's primary purpose of protecting the Escarpment.

The panel recommended that:

• The size of wineries in Niagara's increasingly popular wine region should be capped at 15,000 square feet, instead of the 25,000 square foot maximum proposed by the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC).

• Full-service restaurants should be prohibited in the Escarpment countryside and instead be directed to local towns and hamlets --- a position strongly advocated by CONE and many other hearing participants.

• Public parks on the Escarpment should be off-limits to resort developments, golf courses and banquet halls.

• High-impact tourism developments such as inns, hotels and resorts should be prohibited in the Escarpment countryside.

• Commercial billboards should be prohibited on country roads, so as not to negatively affect the Escarpment's famous scenic vistas.

Before Cabinet can decide on what will be in the new Niagara Escarpment Plan, the Niagara Escarpment Commission must make its recommendations to Minister Snobelen. The Commission, the provincial agency responsible for implementing the Niagara Escarpment Plan, will meet on November 1-2 to finalize its position, after reviewing the Environmental Review Tribunal's report.

Cabinet is expected to make a final decision on changes to the Niagara Escarpment Plan in early to mid 2002.

The Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (CONE) was formed in 1978. It is a coalition of 27 environmental and community groups on the Escarpment and across the province. CONE has worked consistently for the protection of the Escarpment and its many values to Ontario society. CONE was involved in the preparation of the Niagara Escarpment Plan in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and in the first five-year review of the Plan in the early 1990s. CONE's activities include monitoring development up and down the Escarpment, educational initiatives to heighten public understanding and appreciation of the Escarpment, participation in government-led studies on Escarpment issues, and regular monitoring of NEC meetings. In 1995, CONE received the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario's conservation award, recognizing excellence in environmental protection and resource conservation.

In 1990 the Niagara Escarpment was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in part because of the Niagara Escarpment Plan which maintains the natural integrity of the Escarpment while accommodating the needs of a growing human population. The NEP has been studied and admired worldwide as a model for land use planning on World Biosphere Reserves.