The City of Hamilton is asking Ontario’s Conservative government to set aside concerns of federally regulated CN Rail by issuing a Ministerial Zoning Order to bypass the Ontario Land Tribunal and permit a new housing development.
Hamilton’s request, as described by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in a regulatory registry notice, prioritizes the development of “132 for-profit stacked townhome units” as the first phase of development.
Later in the process, the Ministry describes the City as stating that 46 to 210 “affordable” apartment units may be built in two apartment buildings.
As part of this later phase, a “high-res” building with “300 for-profit units” will be built.
The City of Hamilton has not publicly shared the details of its MZO request.
What is an MZO?
A Ministerial Zoning Order, issued under Section 47 of the Planning Act, is a powerful tool that enables the Minister to issue zoning orders that override local plans and which cannot be challenged at the Ontario Land Tribunal.
MZOs are typically used for projects deemed to be in the provincial interest, such as affordable housing developments, long-term care facilities, economic development, and infrastructure.
Recent changes included in Bill 17 enable the Minister to include conditions in MZOs.
For example, the Jamesville MZO could require more affordable housing than the minimum 46 units proposed by the City of Hamilton, and also require that the affordable units be built at the same time as the profitable stacked townhouses the City wishes to build first.
Former Social Housing Site Sold by Previous Council to Private Developer
Previous councils decided to close the 91 rent-geared-to-income family townhouses in Jamesville housing complex to sell the 2.3-hectare site for private redevelopment.
In 2019, Marz Homes won the bid to purchase and redevelop the property.
Fram/Slokker is the lead developer.
The City retained a portion of the property for 46 smaller CityHousing apartments units.
Provincial laws regulating the former Ontario Housing social housing properties require the City to replace the 46 housing units, which were family townhouses. The laws do not require like-for-like replacement. The other 45 units have been replaced with smaller apartments in the new CityHousing on Bay Street North.
Social housing was downloaded to municipalities in 2000 by Ontario Conservative Premier Mike Harris.
At various points, additional “affordable” and/or social housing has been proposed. Most iterations of the plan included a new 114-unit supportive housing building to be operated by Indwell.
The MZO, as described by the Province, does not include this as a requirement.
CN Forced to Appeal After Last City Council Failed to Consider Nearby Rail Operations
CN Rail attempted to express its concerns during the process leading up to last term’s City Council approving a 447-unit redevelopment of the 2.3 hectare former social housing property.
The previous City Council approved the redevelopment on August 12, 2022, without including noise and dust mitigation measures requested by CN Rail. [Bylaw 22-220]
On September 14, 2022, CN Rail filed an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, seeking the Tribunal’s intervention to require better noise and environmental mitigation.
CN’s Stuart Street shutting yard is approximately 230 metres east of the Jamesville site and the main CN line runs directly south of the property.
Confidential Negotiations, Cancelled Hearings, and Unfulfilled Optimism: The Timeline
The parties (The City of Hamilton, CN Rail, and the private developer group Jamesville Development LP) met numerous times to narrow outstanding issues.
Jamesville Development LP’s lead developer is Fram/Slokker.
In December 2023, they agreed on a 20 item issues list, in advance of a contested hearing scheduled to begin in mid-May 2024.
In April 2024, the hearing dates were cancelled as the parties entered into confidential mediation with the hope of reaching a settlement.
The OLT set new hearing dates to begin on February 18, 2025.
At various points during 2024, the sides appeared close to a deal.
Then, in November 2024, it appeared there would not be a settlement.
2025 began with both sides preparing for the February 18 contested hearing, with the Ontario Land Tribunal expected to issue a decision in May or June. However, the hearing was cancelled when it appeared the parties were close to a deal.
On January 22, 2025, Council held a closed session discussion regarding the settlement discussions.
At 4:00 p.m. on that day, the hearing cancellation was announced.
In the hours that followed, something developed that made it appear a deal was imminent.
Shortly after 9:00 p.m. that same day, Mayor Andrea Horwath called an emergency no-notice Council meeting for the next day (January 23). Horwath stated it was necessary to immediately “make sure that we’re keeping councillors up to speed” on settlement talks to reach a “resolution.”
The meeting occurred, direction was given, and negotiations continued throughout the winter and early spring.
It became apparent by April that the sides would not reach any agreement, and the City began lobbying for an MZO.
Public Comment Open Until August 12
Under new procedures for the issuing of Ministerial Zoning Orders, there is a 30 day public comment period.
Comments are being accepted via the ERO website until August 12.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: July 13, 2025
Last updated: July 13, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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