But Council leaves open the possibility of taking a side. Photo credit: Modern Farmer
Hamilton City Council recently decided to remain neutral regarding a court challenge between environmental groups and the province over the expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary.
However, the motion that Council passed regarding their position indicates that they are still leaving open the possibility of taking a side as the court challenge continues to pan out.
Council is working with legal staff to gather more information about the province’s decision to order the city to expand the urban boundary.
The expansion was ordered in November 2022 and came after City Council voted not to expand the urban boundary in a 13-3 vote in November 2021.
The urban boundary expansion involves opening up 2,200 hectares of land to development to help meet Hamilton’s housing targets.
The urban boundary expansion decision involves “whitebelt” lands that are undeveloped but that are not environmentally protected.
While Doug Ford announced on Friday that his government would no longer be opening up Greenbelt lands to development, the province still plans to move forward with the urban boundary expansion as it does not involve Greenbelt lands.
It was revealed in January 2023 that environmental groups Environmental Defence and Ecojustice are seeking a judicial review of the urban boundary expansion.
They argue that Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing at the time, Steve Clark, failed to follow sections of the Planning Act when deciding to order Hamilton’s urban boundary expansion.
They are asking the court for an order that would essentially negate the November 2022 decision and send the matter back to the Ministry for redetermination.
The court process is expected to be rather drawn out, so the results of the judicial review and any potential future Council position remain to be seen.
As the process is also still unfolding, Council continues to consult with legal staff over possible next steps.
Despite Council’s current neutrality in regards to the judicial review, a number of Councillors have been vocal about their opposition to the urban boundary expansion.
Ward 8 (West/Central Mountain) Councillor John-Paul Danko declared at the time that the city “can and will resist” the urban boundary expansion.
On the other hand, the province says that the expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary is necessary in order to build homes quickly enough to keep up with that population growth.
The population of the City of Hamilton is expected to grow to over 800,000 people by 2051.
Most recent census data from 2021 indicates that the city’s population is currently 569,355.
That means that Hamilton’s population is expected to grow by over 40 per cent in a span of just 30 years.
The West End Home Builders’ Association (WEHBA) came out in full support of the urban boundary expansion when the province announced the move.
The province also rejected a proposed 30-storey height limit on buildings at the same time which the organization also supported.
A statement from the WEHBA read, “These adjustments are necessary and in the public interest, given the significant housing shortage our city and economic region is facing. Without addressing this, Hamilton will continue to see major displacement of our residents to neighbouring communities.”
Oxford Economics North America Housing Affordability Indices (HAIs) has consistently ranked Hamilton as the third least affordable housing market in all of North America, with only Vancouver and Toronto ranking worse.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
