A new report brought forward at the city’s Planning Committee last week updated councillors on the City-initiated Secondary Plan Work Program.
An update on the work program had not been presented to City Council since 2009.
Secondary Plans are legally binding area-specific land use policies and are the second layer of a municipality’s Official Plan under provincial planning acts.
They provide detailed direction on land use, density, urban design, natural and cultural heritage considerations, and infrastructure requirements for development.
The city has 31 Secondary Plans.
They are not to be confused with Neighbourhood Plans, most of which were prepared in the 1960s and 1990s, which are further localized and function more as guidelines.
The City of Hamilton is also reviewing the 90 Neighbourhood Plans in the city and could be eliminating a number of them since they are outdated.
On May 13, 2026, Hamilton City Council repealed all Neighbourhood Plans that fall within Secondary Plan areas.
The staff report on the Secondary Plan Work Program says that, since 2009, there have been major policy framework updates or city initiatives that have influenced the development of the Secondary Plan Work Program.
Those changes include Council’s decision to maintain the current urban boundary and a focus on intensification within existing areas along routes that are served, or intended to be served, by higher-order transit such as GO trains, light rail transit (LRT), and bus rapid transit (BRT).
As such, the staff report says, “The city has prioritized the implementation of intensification-focused planning initiatives on a city-wide basis.”
“These evolving growth management objectives necessitate reviews of existing Secondary Plans to ensure alignment with current and projected intensification targets and transit-oriented development objectives,” the report continues.
Since 2009, there have already been some updates, including the introduction of Secondary Plans in Trinity West (2010), West Harbour (2012), Strathcona (2014), Waterdown South (2014), Ancaster Wilson Street (2014), the Airport Employment Growth District (2015), Fruitland-Winona (2016), Centennial Neighbourhoods (2019) and Waterdown Community Node (2022) and a redrafting of the Downtown Hamilton Secondary Plan Area in 2019.
Staff are now planning for the next 20-year horizon.
Already in progress are an Airport Employment Growth District Update, an update to the West Harbour Secondary Plan, and a Fruitland-Winona Secondary Plan Technical Update.
Staff say that priority areas for updates are the Ainslie Wood Westdale Secondary Plan/McMaster and Longwood Major Transit Station Areas, the West Harbour Secondary Plan, the Centre on Barton, including Ottawa and Kenilworth Major Transit Station Areas, and the A-Line (Upper James Street and Upper James Community Node).
Staff also identified six potential new areas for Secondary Plans which have not had long-term planning analysis completed in the past.
Those areas include the Rymal Road Corridor, East of Downtown/Barton Village (including Wentworth, Sherman, and Scott Park Major Transit Station Areas), Dundas Node, Limeridge Mall Sub-Regional Node, Hamilton Beach/Areas North of the QEW, and potential areas of change identified in the Bayfront Industrial Area Strategy.
Staff will also “continue to ensure relevance, clarity, and effectiveness of all existing Secondary Plans through regular reviews and updates.”
As City of Hamilton staff update the Secondary Plans, the West End Home Builders’ Association (WE HBA), which represents land development, new housing, and professional renovation industries in Hamilton, Burlington, and Grimsby, is warning the city to “focus on removing barriers to housing rather than creating new ones.”
WE HBA CEO Mike Collins-Williams says that the plans “should identify where growth belongs, what infrastructure is required, and how approvals can be made more straightforward.”
He also says that Secondary Plans “should not be viewed as a mechanism to accommodate all of Hamilton’s future growth within the existing built boundary.”
“While intensification has an important role to play, it has practical limits. Not every household wants or can afford apartment living, and not every site is suitable for redevelopment. A healthy housing market requires a balanced supply of housing types across both existing neighbourhoods and new communities. Planning policies should reflect that reality by enabling housing in all appropriate locations rather than relying on any single growth strategy,” he added.
WE HBA also encouraged the city to judge the success of the work program by the results they produce rather than the number of Secondary Plans completed.
“If these plans lead to faster approvals, clearer policies, coordinated infrastructure investment and more housing, they will have achieved their purpose. If they introduce additional processes without improving housing delivery, the City should be prepared to adjust its approach,” Collins-Williams concluded.
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.
