Crescent Park Lodge rebuild creates potential noise issue for Rich Products
April 30, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Fort Erie’s mayor is encouraging a local food company and the local long-term care provider that’s expanding on neighbouring property to figure out a solution to a potential noise issue.
The issue came up during the April 28 Fort Erie council meeting, when representatives from Rich Products of Canada presented to council, requesting their support in securing a Class 4 Area designation through the Ministry of Environment.
The proponents of such a designation said it would help alleviate a potential conflict with noise emission guidelines that will arise when Conmed Health Care Group’s expansion of its Crescent Park Lodge facility at 4 Hagey Avenue is complete.
“Hopefully there can be some further discussions so that you folks can resolve it,” said Mayor Wayne Redekop following the Rich Products presentation and an ensuing presentation from Meaghan McDermid of Davies Howe LLP, representing Conmed.
The exterior of Crescent Park Lodge located at 4 Hagey Avenue. Credit: Live Your Retirement“Because as a council we have great desire to have more long-term care beds in our community. But we also recognize that we’ve had Rich Products in this town for over 60 years, and they’re a very responsible employer and a great corporate citizen,” the mayor added.
According to Andrew Moscato, plant manager for Rich Products, the potential conflict is a result of Conmed’s expansion moving the long-term care facility 15 metres closer to their business. He said the Ministry of the Environment bases the noise aspect of Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECA) on the noise they emit at the closest point to a neighbouring building.
“With them coming 15 metres closer we will now be louder,” Moscato said, noting that a Class 4 designation would increase their allowable noise levels.
While he said there have been discussions about mitigation efforts to reduce the noise inside the building, that doesn’t change their requirements with the ministry’s ECA.
“It doesn’t matter if they have all the sound proofing in the world, it’s the noise that we emit to their closest point, to the best of my understanding,” he said.
An Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) appeal by Rich Products led to a settlement agreement and the execution of an agreement under the Industrial and Mining Lands Compensation Act, said McDermid.
The latter agreement “effectively insulates Rich Products from any nuisance lawsuits or claims from owners and residents of the 4 Hagey site,” she said, adding it will be registered on title.
She said the OLT settlement hearing was held earlier this month and they’re awaiting the tribunal’s decision.
Conmed is opposing the request for the Class 4 designation.
McDermid argued that the Town can’t grant a Class 4 designation in part because the expansion of the facility will mostly see the same residents moving into the new building as those who live in the older one. Part of the ministry’s guidelines state “areas with existing noise sensitive land uses cannot be classified as Class 4 areas.”
“The Class 4 area is not meant as a tool to foist higher sound levels onto existing residents. It does not allow an industry to decide it would like to make more noise to the people who already live there and it does not provide an out for an industry that is not in compliance with its ECA requirements to simply up the limits and avoid the need to do anything,” she said.
McDermid also said the layout and design of the new building will be better for noise from their neighbours because the layout will see residents moved further away, and new technology will mitigate noise concerns.
However, Moscato said they still need the designation.
“The partial mitigation agreed to with the long-term care facility is not enough for Rich Products to meet the full Ministry of Environment criteria,” he said. “Without a Class 4 area designation the cost of improving or expanding Rich Products facilities will become prohibitively expensive.”
While Redekop encouraged the two sides to come to an agreement, council did direct staff to review the issue and prepare a report.
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About The Author
Luke Edwards
Luke Edwards is a longtime Niagara community journalist who has covered a variety of beats, including business, agriculture, the wine industry and politics. When not writing, there's a good chance he can be found at a baseball diamond or curling rink.
I work at Crescent Park Lodge and we are not noisy. The only noise would be from the building itself being built with the contractors and that can not be helped. Every building or home that is built, there is obviously going to be noise of it being built, but it’s not going to be a permanent thing. We take our breaks outside on the grass area that is between CPL and Rich’s and we hear noise all the time from the trucks coming and going (beeping from backing up etc) Our home is over 50 years old and we desperately need a newer updated home for our residents. They deserve to have it! A new updated home is long overdue.
Agreed that an update to Crescent Park Lodge is long overdue. But the concerns referenced in the story above have nothing to do with noise being produced by Crescent Park Lodge; the concerns have to do with the noise coming from Rich Products once the expansion is complete and Crescent Park Lodge is 15 metres closer to Rich’s. Taken directly from the story above: “…the Ministry of the Environment bases the noise aspect of Environmental Compliance Approvals on the noise they (Rich Products) emit at the closest point to a neighbouring building (Crescent Park Lodge).”