The first Council Planning Committee agenda reflects the economic depression in new housing development – there isn’t a single new unit of housing being considered for approval.
70 Hope Street Rezoning: The agenda includes a motion to rezone a municipal parking lot at 70 Hope Avenue for future residential use in Ward 4 for a maximum of 50 units of housing, in a low-rise or stacked townhome configuration. Stacked townhouses remain a profitable housing form for developers.
There are dozens of letters of support included within the agenda.
One letter, from resident Kevin Nunn, notes the City can construct more housing on the site. “Given the site’s proximity to transit, services, and future LRT-related MTSA planning frameworks, I urge staff to explore opportunities additional height and density where compatible through further study and analysis. Maximizing the housing potential on municipally owned land is essential, and this site represents a strong candidate for a more ambitious built form.”
Self Storage Facilities and City-Wide Zoning: Council will vote to update the City’s Zoning Bylaw (05-200) to permit self-storage facilities in higher-density large commercial zones (C5, C6, and C7), and to restrict self-storage facilities in rural Hamilton to only lans that have “a legally established non-conforming or legally established non-complying rural industrial use.”
Self Storage facilities in the C5 zone will be required to interact with the pedestrian realm in a mann that supports active street frontages and transit-supportive environments.
Ending Radial Separation of Residential Care Facilities: The City is formally removing radial separation restrictions on residential care facilities (RCF), following decades of pressure from Ontario’s Human Rights Commission regarding the prohibition on new RCFs within 300 metres of existing ones.
The City will permit RCFs to be co-located with social services in three high-density zones: Major Institutional (I3) Zone, Transit Oriented Corridor Mixed Use Medium Density (TOC1) Zone, and Mixed Use Medium Density (C5) Zone. Both RCFs and social services are permitted in these zones, but not in the same facility until now.
Radial separation of 300 metres will continue to apply to corrections-related facilities and emergency shelters.
Demoliton Permit: A developer is seeking to demolish a vacant home at 11 Lakeside Drive in Stoney Creek. The developer wishes to redevelop the site. Hamilton’s demolition control bylaw does not permit demolishing existing housing until a building permit is issued for new housing. This control is both to prevent the loss of existing housing to land spectulation, and also to protect tax revenue. City Council has been granting demolition requests.
Staff Comments on New Ontario Laws and Regulations: Councillors will recieve the comments that City staff sent to the provincial government regarding: Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025; Environmental Registry of Ontario Posting 025-1099 – Consultation on Simplifying and Standardizing Official Plans; and Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025.
The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m.
The full agenda is here, and the meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube.
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v. 1.0.0
Published: January 13, 2026
Last updated: January 13, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
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v. 1.0.0 original version