The Ontario Land Tribunal has ruled the urban boundary expansion application submitted by the Upper West Side Landowners Group Inc. (UWSLG) should have been deemed complete on December 14, 2023, rejecting arguments by the City of Hamilton that minor details the City sought should mean the application is not properly complete.
The effect of the ruling is minimal because the UWSLG’s urban boundary expansion application is already scheduled to be heard by the OLT beginning on April 13. If the OLT grants the urban boundary expansion (UBE), this latest ruling will permit the Official Plan Amendment for the secondary plan to be immediately appealed to the OLT.
At the heart of the dispute is the ongoing attempt by landowner groups to expand Hamilton’s urban boundary, and City Council’s repeated votes to freeze the urban boundary.
For over a decade, the UWSLG has been attempting to add approximately 700 acres north of the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport along Twenty Road West and Garner Road East to Hamilton’s urban area.
The expansion was granted in November 2022 by the Ontario Progressive Conservative government, an approval that was reversed in October 2023 amidst devastating reports from Ontario’s Auditor General and Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner (Report 1, Report 2), revealing improper and concerning actions leading to removing lands from the Greenbelt.
Following the October 2023 reversal, the UWSLG continued to pursue a private application for urban boundary expansion. It is this UBE application which is being considered in the April hearing.
The late November ruling states the UWSLG may seek a costs order against the City.
OLT Information
Case Number: OLT-24-000748
Status (as of January 7, 2026): Hearing scheduled to begin April 13, 2026
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: January 7, 2026
Last updated: January 7, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version