Mayor Andrea Horwath held a press conference in her office during the afternoon of December 19 to answer questions about the City’s announced delay in opening the Barton/Tiffany temporary low-barrier outdoor emergency shelter spaces.
Roger Collins from CHCH News and I (Joey Coleman) attended the press conference. I took the opportunity to ask the Mayor about the Upper West Side Land Owners Inc.’s request to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra for a Minster’s Zoning Order (MZO) to bring the lands into Hamilton’s Urban Boundary.
CHCH asked nearly all the questions regarding the Barton / Tiffany delays, you can read the first seven questions of this press conference in a summarized transcript here: Mayor Andrea Horwath on Barton / Tiffany Microshelter Delays
Question 8: Upper West Side MZO Request
Joey Coleman, TPR: “I have a question for the Mayor on another topic, which Acting General Manager [of Planning and Economic Development Steve] Robichaud may need to chime in on. You received a letter this week from the Upper West Side Land Owners Group.
They’re asking for a ministerial zoning order. They’re asking for your support of that order. What is your position?”
Mayor Andrea Horwath:
“My position is what it has always been, which is the process that was undertaken, by staff in terms of a recommendation to Council and that recommendation was passed.
That’s how the City is going to approach any, expansion to the urban boundary that comes in an application process.”
Joey Coleman, TPR: “For clarity, yes or no on the MZO?”
Mayor Andrea Horwath:
“I’m going to follow what council’s decision was which was to not expand the urban boundary. That’s where I am, and that’s where I’ve always been.
The urban boundary expansion is not something that I’m prepared to support.”
Mayor Horwath requested Acting GM Robichaud to elaborate on how the City will oppose the MZO request.
Steve Robichaud, Acting General Manager of Planning and Economic Development:
“The protocol the Province put in place requires the Minister, when they receive a request for an M0 to posted on the ERO [Environmental Registry of Ontario] and have a 30-day comment period.
Staff are monitoring the ERO and depending on timelines, we will provide staff comments if it’s not possible to go to Council first and then report back to council to seek endorsement of the comments provided by staff.
As the Mayor indicated, Council is committed to a firm urban boundary and our Official Plan reflects Council’s decision as it relates to urban boundaries.
We also have a process that council adopted, that is in place as to how requests for urban boundaries expansion should be processed.
We would ask that applicant, you proponents follow that process.
I would comment there is an active OLT [Ontario Land Tribunal] file relating to these lands as well.
I don’t want to comment on that, but we normally would expect that people would follow that public planning process and the protocol that’s been adopted by council that allows for public engagement and participation in the process.
And the MZO bypasses that process.
That’s part of the concern that we have with the MZO request.”
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: December 21, 2024
Last updated: December 21, 2024
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version