The Ontario Land Tribunal will decide if a 158-resident unit mid-rise building of up to seven storeys is appropriate for the corner of Rousseaux Street and Wilson Street in Ancaster. The corporate owners of the lands, 2691893 Ontario Inc., c/o Adakite, decided to bypass Hamilton City Council by filing a non-decision appeal.
During a first case management conference on January 30, the Ontario Land Tribunal agreed to permit a neighbouring property owner to have full party status in the appeal. Dan and Rita Faulkner will present evidence regarding their concerns of privacy and overlook, shadow and sunlight, traffic, driveway access, noise and light, landscaping, and trees.
At the request of the developer’s lawyers, the tribunal restricted participant statements to individuals who live within one kilometre of the property. 26 individuals were granted participant status.
No dates were set for the contested merit hearing. Instead, the tribunal will hold a second case management conference on March 23 to determine the required length for the merit hearing and set dates.
Background: A Voided Settlement and Provincial Reversal
The current application is a second attempt at development permissions for the site. The owners previously received permissions to build the proposed development in a September 2023 settlement agreement.
The City of Hamilton only settled that case after the Ontario government upzoned this area of Ancaster during the Greenbelt scandal. That provincial move granted upzoning permissions to a neighbouring property. The principal of that neighbouring development purchased tickets to the stag and doe of the daughter of Premier Doug Ford.
These provincially imposed Official Plan Amendments were reversed in October 2023 as the provincial government retreated following public backlash and two reports from the Provincial Integrity Commissioner. Ontario’s Bill 150 nullified the settlement agreement.
Following that cancellation, 2691893 Ontario Inc. filed a new application on May 27, 2025, seeking effectively the same zoning permissions as agreed in the voided settlement.
The Non-Decision Appeal Process
Under the Planning Act, applicants may file an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal if a municipal council fails to make a decision on an Official Plan Amendment or Zoning By-law Amendment within 120 days of submission.
The 120-day deadline passed on September 24, 2025, and the developer immediately filed the appeal.
At the time of the filing, Ward 12 Councillor Craig Cassar expressed his disappointment that the developer chose to bypass the public council decision-making process.
The previous City Council voted 5-1 against the proposal at the July 5, 2022, Planning Committee meeting.
More information on the project, including a link to the planning application documents, is available on the Cassar’s website.
OLT Information
Case Number: OLT-25-000782
Status (as of February 16, 2026): Pre-Merit Hearing
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: February 14, 2026
Last updated: February 14, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version