City councillors on Hamilton’s planning committee reluctantly and with reservations moved forward a new policy for reviewing privately initiated urban boundary expansion application.
Council is facing a time crunch because it must decide on the largest boundary expansion ever proposed in Hamilton—the Efrida application. With a provincially imposed 120-day deadline, the Council will hold a special meeting on June 25 to make its decision.
None of the council members at today’s planning committee wanted to support the new policy, saying they do not support “sprawl.”
However, they recognize they must pass policy to have a record to defend in the event they vote against the expansion applications and end up at the Ontario Land Tribunal on a developer’s appeal.
“We’ve built too much sprawling infrastructure over the past many decades that has impoverished our city finances,” Ward 12 Councillor Craig Cassar said. “We have a $3.8 billion infrastructure deficit that’s left our city with ageing infrastructure, including crumbling roads.”
“Yet the development industry wants to continue its ruinous development pattern, and that’s what this is.”
Cassar says the City must require a full financial impact analysis of urban boundary expansion, including the infrastructure costs of losing wetlands that prevent flooding, farms that provide food, and environmental degradation.
Ward 2 Clr Cameron Kroetsch agreed, saying wetlands are important to the watershed. They “support everyone’s ability to live in the city without constant flooding.”
Cassar Plans to Amend to Include Financial Value of Environmental Assets
At one point during the debate, no council members were willing to move the staff-recommended urban boundary expansion evaluation policy
Clr Cassar stated that the plan needs to include environmental value, but the policy needs to move forward because otherwise, the Council will “get into a messy situation where we do not end up having a framework.”
“I don’t support it entirely the way it is now, but I know it’s not perfect. I’d rather have something that’s not perfect, but will work between now and Council to make it better.”
The policy moves forward to Council on a 9-0 vote.
Special Council Meeting on June 25
A special council meeting will be held on June 25 to vote on applications from developers who own roughly 3,000 acres of land in the Elfrida in Upper Stoney Creek and approximately 900 acres in the White Church Road area of Glanbrook.
In comments following the meeting, Acting General Manager of Planning and Economic Development Steve Robichaud chose his words carefully while explaining the upcoming process.
Robichaud explained that City staff are reviewing the two urban boundaries, informed by both the City’s official plan, which states there shall be no urban boundary expansion, and the Provincial Planning Statement, which enables private expansion applications.
Staff will make recommendations to Council at a special meeting scheduled for June 25. The recommendations could include refusal, returning the applications to developers for amendments, or approval with conditions.
Robichaud noted the developers can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
His words were carefully chosen so as not to prejudge the expected outcome of denying the applications. The staff recommendation is expected to recommend denial [Hamilton’s zoning reforms permit the density necessary to meet provincial population growth targets within the existing urban boundary] and an eventual appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Elfrida: 115,000 New Residents
The Elfrida land owners are proposing to build out the largest single urban expansion in Hamilton’s history, with 115,000 new residents when the build-out is complete.
“This Draft Concept Plan could ultimately accommodate approximately 114,900 persons and 14,460 jobs at build-out, for a density of 135 persons and jobs per hectare,” reads the Elfrida application.
The full application package is available on the City website here.
White Church: 7,628 units, 26000 people
Note: This section is updated. The City of Hamilton website contained outdated information.
The owners of the White Church lands wish to construct 7,629 residential units in “single detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, street townhouse dwellings, stacked townhouse dwellings, low – mid-rise multiple dwellings and low – mid-rise mixed use
buildings” at a density of 77 persons per hectare.
The population estimate for the project is 26,703 people.
The full application package is available on the City website here.
City of Hamilton Open House – LOCATION CHANGED
The City’s planning department is holding an open house on Monday, April 14, between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. to hear from the public regarding the applications.
The open house is now at the Hamilton Convention Centre. It was originally advertised to occur inside an Upper James Street church.
An online open house will occur on Thursday, April 17, between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Production Details
v. 1.1.0
Published: April 8, 2025
Last updated: April 10, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.1.0 rewrite of the White Church lands section. The City of Hamilton website contained outdated information.