Hamilton will continue to hold urban boundary despite pitches for big housing projects

Hamilton's urban boundary will hold after council blocked two development requests that would've seen tens of thousands of homes eventually built on farmland. 

Planning committee considered applications Wednesday from two landowner groups to expand the city's official urban area for their proposed projects. 

Developers of the White Church Lands near the Hamilton airport have proposed building 7,600 homes, while the developers of the Elfrida Lands in Upper Stoney Creek are looking to build 40,000 homes, said Dave Heyworth, the city's acing director and senior advisor of strategic growth at the meeting. There would be a mix of detached, semi-detached and town houses to come in the next decades.

Staff recommended councillors deny both applications because they would encroach on agricultural land and require more infrastructure than the city is able to provide or pay for in the coming years, said a report. That infrastructure would include bigger roads and sewers in and out of the development, for example. 

Allowing the developments, said staff, would also contradict what council, with support from the public, has said its plan is for Hamilton: to grow up, not out. 

"I think it will thwart our goal of increasing density inside the urban boundary as the city does have limited service capacity and this development would compete for those services," said Coun. Mark Tadeson, of the White Church proposal, which would be in his ward. 

Residents there, he said, are "overwhelmingly" against the development. 

'We are a collaborative partner'

The Elfrida development would be in both Tadeson and Coun. Brad Clark's wards.

Clark said he's long been opposed to it and to "jump start" the development now, without first building up infrastructure, "puts the city in peril." 

In November 2021, the last term of council voted against expanding the urban boundary — the area developers would be allowed to build on. Elected officials made the decision after hearing from thousands of residents opposed to growth at the expense of farmland. 

Since then, the city has been focused on encouraging developers to build on underused urban land, such as on surface parking lots. 

In about five years, the city and council will review the urban boundary freeze to see if there's a need for more land to accommodate a growing population. 

Patrick Harrington, a lawyer for the White Church landowners, told planning committee Wednesday that it's only a matter of time before Hamilton would have to expand, so why not start now. 

"What we're asking you to do now is start the process with us," said Harrington. "We are a collaborative partner that can bear the cost of looking at these lands holistically, scientifically ... to provide information the city needs to make an informed decision." 

Housing for families needed

The Elfrida group's lawyer Joe Hoffman made a similar pitch. 

"Hamilton needs both significant intensification and an urban boundary expansion," he said. "We're planning for the next 20 years, so we need to start the detailed planning process now." 

Expanding the urban boundary for these kinds of single family homes was supported by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Dunnett. He told the committee Hamilton is missing "workforce housing" for middle-income families, and downtown condos aren't what they're looking for. 

But both Coun. Cameron Kroetsch and Coun. Craig Cassar pushed back on the idea that the only way to ensure there's more housing for families is to allow suburban sprawl. 

Kroetsch noted the many vacant lots across downtown where housing could be built. Cassar added that strip malls with unused parking lots would also work.

"Keep the urban boundary firm," he said. 

Council unanimously voted to deny the development applications, although those decisions will likely be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, staff said.