Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment, made up of citizen professionals appointed by Council, rejected a Minor Variance Application from The Salvation Army and the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group to allow for a relocation of The Salvation Army Booth Centre from York Boulevard to 337 Gage Avenue North.
Seeking a variance under Section 45(2) of the Planning Act was the simplest route that The Salvation Army could take to get its move to the Gage Avenue North facility approved, a process which goes through the city’s Committee of Adjustment rather than City Council.
However, to be granted the variance, the application has to be evaluated as to “whether the new use is similar in purpose to the original legal non-conforming use or whether the new use is more compatible with the uses permitted by the by-law than the original legal non-conforming use.”
The last recognized use on the property was reportedly “an Educational Establishment and Commercial School.”
Staff were not of the opinion that the new Salvation Army location is similar to the legal non-conforming use, nor more compatible with the uses permitted by the city’s by-laws.
The Committee of Adjustment agreed with staff and voted to deny the minor variance.
The Salvation Army can still appeal the decision or file Zoning By-law Amendment and Official Plan Amendment applications, which are more comprehensive processes.
Planning staff added that the intent of the current zoning “is to provide employment uses, primarily industrial uses, including manufacturing and warehousing, among other uses and uses that support the employment area.”
“The introduction of emergency accommodation on a 24/7 basis introduces the potential for impacts on the broader employment area. 24/7 overnight accommodation is considered a sensitive land use which may impact the future viability of the employment area. The nature of the 24/7 overnight accommodation may also result in nuisance impacts on the surrounding neighbourhood when compared to an Educational Establishment or Commercial School,” staff continued in their report.
The Salvation Army Booth Centre is currently located across from Hamilton’s TD Coliseum on York Boulevard, in an area that is well on its way to becoming a re-envisioned entertainment precinct.
The site is also 120 years old, with limited space and aging infrastructure.
The potential new site on Gage Avenue North at the Beach Road intersection at the north end of the city’s Ward 3 would reportedly allow The Salvation Army “to focus and develop additional services, including educational and support programs with temporary accommodations for program participants when necessary.”
They would also look to make a one-storey addition to the building on Gage Avenue North, continuing to operate as a men’s shelter for approximately 120 individuals.
There has been strong opposition to the shelter move so far. The Minor Variance Application resulted in 1,325 pages of correspondence against the move.
However, there were also 59 pages of correspondence in favour of the move, including from the Hamilton Farmers’ Market Stallholders Association, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), Mohawk College, Vrancor Group Inc., Core Urban Inc., the Hamilton Convention Centre, and Hamilton Health Sciences.
The area’s Councillor, Nrinder Nann (Ward 3 – East Hamilton Centre), is also against the move.
Nann wrote a statement on social media which read, “Successful city building should not result in the sterilization of the downtown core, nor should it mean over-concentrating the most complex social services into the adjacent ward, repeatedly.”
“Good city building fosters belonging and sets an environment of excellence. It is my opinion that the application by HUPEG to relocate the Salvation Army Booth Centre to 337 Gage Ave N accomplishes neither, unfortunately,” she concluded.
Nann wrote, “Together we believe and work towards REAL solutions to homelessness, mental health and addictions. We push for excellence in service models and outcomes that lead to permanent housing. This was not that. This was seeking to perform rapid relocation of existing challenges into a new neighbourhood.”
It remains to be seen what further action HUPEG and The Salvation Army will take.
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.
