Experts for the City of Hamilton, Jamesville Development LP, and the Canadian National Railway will meet on October 18 as all sides prepare for a contested Ontario Land Tribunal in February.
The meeting of experts is a crucial step in the OLT process. The experts’ meeting will narrow the number of contested issues if no settlement is reached before February.
Following the meeting, all sides will issue an agreed statement of facts/opinions.
Settlement talks are ongoing.
Background
On August 12, 2022, Hamilton City Council approved zoning changes to permit 447 residential units for the Jamesville redevelopment at 405 James Street North, the former Jamesville social housing site.
On September 14, 2022, CN Rail filed its appeal to the OLT, asking the Tribunal to intervene to require better noise and environmental mitigation.
CN’s Stuart Street shutting yard is approximately 230 metres west of the Jamesville site, and the main CN line runs directly south of the property.
CN’s appeal letter indicates they believe the City failed to meet the planning and environmental requirements to ensure compatibility with CN’s operations.
“Sensitive uses should not be permitted within 300 metres of rail yards, as rail yards have an area of influence of 1,000 metres where negative impacts can occur on the proposed use,” wrote CN’s legal counsel Katarzyna Silwa of Dentons Canada LLP.
“CN’s reasons for the appeal are centred on concerns of safety, odour, vibration, noise and whether the proposed sensitive land uses are appropriate for the Lands. CN was not opposed to the approval of OPA 249 and ZBLA 22-220 provided that the impact of the adjacent rail operations were accounted for and mitigated, as required.”
April 2024: Council Approves Changes to Jamesville Plan
On April 24, 2024, this term’s City Council approved changes to the plan that increases the density of the redevelopment. The revised plan includes up to 642 units of housing.
The new plan shifts the planned apartment buildings to the south-side of the Jamesville property, nearer the CN rail line, and reconfigures the townhouse locations. The changes enable better noise mitigation measures.
Next Stages
The contested OLT hearing is scheduled for February 18, 2025, to February 28, 2025.
If all sides reach a settlement earlier, they can request a settlement hearing.
Production Details v. 1.1.0 Published: September 27, 2024 Last updated: September 27, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original versio v. 1.0.1 added "of the Jamesville property" and embedded the map that was previously linked. This is responsive to a comment. v. 1.1.0 CORRECTION the original version of this story stated the shunting yard is east of the Jamesville site, it is west of the site.
You say the new plans shifts the building to the south side of CN rail. It would be nice if you mentioned the location or address of it, so people can see where exactly.
The plans are available at the link shared to the City of Hamilton website.
Hi,
A quick note that nearer to the CN rail line is not the other (south) side of the tracks.
I’ve added “of the Jamesville property” following “south-side” to assist with clarity for readers.
The shunting yard is west of the Jamesville property, not east
Thank you,
Apologies for the error.
So as I understand this, the concern is that they are too close to the CN shunting lines. What about the shunting lines that lead to the Aberdeen yard? They run directly beside a residential neighbourhood of Kirkendall. This shunting goes on at all hours as well. It wouldn’t be bad if they shunted during the day but more often than not it is in the middle of the night (1:00am and onward).
I know this question isn’t in line with the article but it made me think of it when I read it.
Thank you, a very good point and helpful insight.