The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has cancelled a contested hearing scheduled for March 2026 regarding a six-storey, 129-unit residential building proposal at 55 Cootes Drive in Dundas. The cancellation follows a request from the owner and developer, 7612737 Canada Corp, who is appealing a development application denial decision of the Hamilton Conservation Authority Board of Directors.
In January, the HCA Board refused to issue development approvals after it determined the site would be surrounded by flood depths of over three metres during a major Spencer Creek flooding event, making the building inaccessible to emergency services. While the building’s minimum geodetic elevation is proposed at 82.15 metres, the access street (King Street) geodetic elevation is approximately 79 metres.
The OLT had scheduled a seven-day hearing to begin on March 3, 2026.
In an email to the Tribunal, the developer’s lawyer, Russell Cheeseman, wrote that his client is “advancing an additional issue that will require some technical studies.”
“Those studies will take some considerable period of time,” Cheeseman wrote.
Ward 13 Councillor Alex Wilson, who represents Dundas and is a member of the Hamilton Conservation Authority, stated that the HCA’s role is “to enforce the regulations set out by the province, namely the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks” to ensure safe access to the building, including emergency access, even during a flooding event.
Councillor Wilson added that the developer “had done a lot of great work in becoming compliant in a really difficult planning area to meet some of the requirements that come from the floodplain, and from some of the ecological sensitivity. It’s a difficult area to do planning in.”
The developer must convince the OLT that proposed mitigation measures will sufficiently mitigate the substantial safety risk. These measures, which are part of the developer’s evidence, include requiring the condominium board to have plans for a flood event, including “a detailed evacuation and storm event preparation and protocol,” and equipping the building with “a broad array of medical supports, including defibrillators.”
The OLT hearing solely addresses issues under the Conservation Authorities Act. The City of Hamilton granted conditional approval in 2020, pending the final determination of the HCA. The City of Hamilton is neither a party nor a participant in the appeal.
Wilson noted that this area of Dundas, which is the current site of a Beer Store, was identified by the former Town of Dundas for development.
“With respect to the developer taking some more time to get it right or taking some more time to do some more studies, yeah, that’s absolutely their right,” Councillor Wilson said. “It’s up to them to kind of keep doing the work till they come forward with a proposal that can be supported.”
Wilson said the HCA mandate remains public safety and regulatory compliance.
“I am certainly happy to look at this development with an open mind if it comes back in front of us or if there’s any changes to the application,” Wilson said. “We’re not there to say no to housing. We’re there to just make sure these things are done according to policy and done safely, especially for the people living there.”
The OLT has instructed the developer and the HCA to conduct further discussions and to provide a progress update by the end of January.
Full audio of my question to Councillor Alex Wilson and his answer, as posted to my Instagram account.
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Published: November 24, 2025
Last updated: November 24, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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