The Ontario Land Tribunal held a rare rehearing this morning regarding an application to add four bedrooms in the attic of an existing secondary dwelling unit at 9 Westbourne Road.
This would increase the total number of bedrooms on the property near McMaster University to 16, up from the current 12. [Eight in the primary residence, and four in the secondary dwelling unit.]
On November 21, 2024, OLT Chair Michael Kraljevic overturned an earlier OLT decision that had upheld the City of Hamilton’s denial of minor variances. He ordered a new hearing.
Kraljevic’s reasons are not publicly available.
In December 2024, Ontario’s Auditor General stated the OLT should provide easy access to evidence and recordings of hearings. [Recommendation 10]
“We recommend the OLT review and adopt best practices from other tribunals to enhance the transparency of the OLT hearings process, such as making evidence the OLT examines easily accessible through its website, publishing notices of upcoming hearings and recording hearings.”
The OLT has not adopted the recommendations.
Since the Auditor General report was issued, the OLT discontinued providing hearing materials to the public during hearings. The Tribunal now only releases public documents following the completion of a hearing.
Are Four Additional Bedrooms in an SDU Attic Good Planning?
In the now overturned decision, OLT Member Ken Hewitt outlined the timeline of events leading to the current decision.
9 Westbourne was one of Hamilton’s few modern SDUs.
In February 2021, City Council approved a zoning amendment to permit the conversion of a garage into a one-storey four bedroom SDU.
On May 3, 2021, the owner, B.U. Inc, applied for a building permit. They included a storage space attic in the final submission. Attics are not included in Hamilton’s calculation of storeys or living space, therefore the attic was permitted above the four bedroom units.
On October 2, 2023, the owner applied for a building permit to install insulation and heating for the attic.
On January 9, 2024, they applied to convert the SDU attic into four bedrooms, which would be in addition to the existing four.
On July 23, Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment denied the application. The owners went to the OLT. On November 21, Hewitt upheld the denial. The owners appealed to the OLT Chair, who granted that appeal.
The City of Hamilton submitted that the addition of four bedrooms to the existing secondary dwelling unit would have a negative impact on the surrounding community. The City argued that because the permitted 89 square metres was approved by City Council, adding 35 square metres was not minor in nature.
Today’s Rehearing
Today’s rehearing began with OLT Member Ashley Mason outlining how it would be streamlined because she had read all the materials, the parties had agreed on many issues, and there were few points of contention remaining.
Due to the OLT’s changed practice and the withholding of hearing documents, it is not readily apparent what the remaining issues are.
As noted by Ontario’s Auditor General, the Tribunal’s practices, especially compared to those followed by Ontario’s other quasi-judicial bodies, hinder public awareness and understanding of the Tribunal’s role and decisions.
Counsel for the owner, Peter Voltsinis, argued the changes are a ‘technical increase’ and emphasised the conversion of the attic does not change the exterior design.
Voltsinis mused about a question of law, asking if municipalities are even allowed to regulate gross floor area, before adding that is not before the OLT in this hearing.
The owner’s hired planning expert, Registered Professional Planner Eldon Theodore of MHBC, testified that Hamilton’s zoning bylaws regulate height, not storeys, and therefore the additional storey was already permitted by the zoning amendment. He submitted this showed the changes are minor in nature and should be permitted.
Member Mason asked Theodore detailed questions regarding the 2021 zoning amendment approval by Council, focusing upon how the attic space was created.
[The questions might be related to whether Council had awareness that an attic would be included. However, because the OLT does not release hearing materials, the question could have another purpose.]
Theodore explained that the attic was not livable space, and therefore did not count as a second-storey, and that because the City of Hamilton regulates height not storeys, the attic was designed as storage space and was permitted.
He described the application as being a form of ‘gentle intensification’ and addition of rental housing options in an existing community with walkable access to services and active transportation options.
Stormwater Management
The City is seeking, as a condition of approval, that the owner provide a Stormwater Management Brief.
Voltsinis asked his client’s planner if he thought the condition should be required.
Member Mason stated the planner was not qualified to provide engineering evidence.
Hearing Cut Short After Lunch Due to Videoconference Technical Issues
City of Hamilton planning manager Jennifer Catarino was scheduled to testify in the afternoon, followed by closing statements.
Due to technical issues with the video conferencing platform, the afternoon session was cancelled.
A half-day hearing will be scheduled next week.
Production Details
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Published: June 20, 2025
Last updated: June 20, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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