Michael-Allan Marion
August 30, 2007
Brantford Expositor
Local News - A local developer hopes he'll be able to diffuse a festering native land claim dispute that has put a temporary halt to his Grand River Avenue housing development in a meeting with the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy council.
Mike Quattrociocchi, owner of Mayberry Homes, will attend the council meeting in the Onondaga Longhouse on Saturday where he will explain his plans for a rental housing development that he started on a vacant lot by the Grand River at Jarvis Street nearly two weeks ago.
In an interview Wednesday, Quattrociocchi, a former city councillor, said he has felt frustrated since he reluctantly agreed to have a crew halt construction of foundations they were installing after the site was visited twice by two different groups of natives last Thursday and Friday, each of which gave orders to cease and desist. They each claimed the land was part of their respective territories and said they had not been informed of the development. Quattrociocchi said he believed he had cleared his development through meetings and documents with the Confederacy secretary.
Quattrociocchi told the group that showed up on Friday he would halt work for a week until the Confederacy council meeting on Saturday.
"It's frustrating," said Quattrociocchi. "I want everything to remain peaceful and I want the situation to be resolved. The longer this goes on, the more problems I'm going to have in getting this project done."
He said he's at risk of losing his financing.
"I'm a small developer and cannot be held up a long time, because I have bills to pay," he said.
Quattrociocchi also explained that many of his suppliers are the same companies that supplied the former Douglas Creek Estates subdivision in Caledonia which natives occupied over a land claims dispute about 18 months ago and have continued to stay in a "land reclamation."
The suppliers have told him they don't want to be caught in a second land claim debacle.
"I don't know why they picked my location because I'm one of the most native-friendly developers," said Quattrociocchi.
"I've had natives working for me since 1990. Some of them in the subtrades are second generation in the same family."
It's been a week since a group of about five natives showed up at the Mayberry site and told the crew to stop work. Quattrociocchi wasn't there when they first arrived but happened upon the scene a few minutes later.
After they made their claims, he drove off.
Then Quattrociocchi said he noticed a car nearby with two men inside and walked over to ask them why they were there.
He said they were undercover police officers and were observing the action.
"I didn't believe them at first, but they showed me their badges," Quattrociocchi recalled.
"They told me they were watching that group of natives as they made the rounds of various local job sites."
Around 11 a.m. the next day, another group of natives arrived on the site. Among them were Ruby and Floyd Montour and Stan Farmer, Confederacy representatives who have delivered warnings numerous times to city council and developers about certain development plots being under land claim.
After explaining to them his earlier correspondence with the Confederacy office, Quattrociocchi agreed to issue a temporary stop work order. Then he reconfirmed with the secretary, he said.
"It's been peaceful up to this point. I hope it stays that way right up to Saturday and this whole thing will be resolved."
Other developers are expected to appear before the council the same day to discuss their projects, after receiving notices from Confederacy representatives.
Mayor Mike Hancock and city council have been kept informed of the situation on Grand River Avenue.
Coun. Jennifer Kinneman, who represents the area, said she was not surprised at the action. She recalled that the Confederacy earlier made its intentions known through a delegation by Ruby Montour at a council meeting where Quattrociocchi had sought approval for a minor regulatory matter concerning his development.
"I'm concerned that we maintain a peaceful approach on the situation," said Kinneman.
"We don't have much choice in this. We've followed all our rules as a municipal council, and as a city we're doing all we can to maintain the peace. I'm sure Mr. Quattrociocchi will continue to do his best, too."