Concern over ‘vertical sprawl’ after province nixes Hamilton’s 30-storey height limit

The province has struck a 30-storey height limit from Hamilton's guiding land-use plan, sparking concerns among city officials over the spectre of vertical sprawl."

That cap - meant to preserve vistas of the Niagara Escarpment - was already in place for buildings downtown, and municipal planners had hoped to export the policy across the city in its new official plan.

But the province said no in its review of city's long-term planning document, while also imposing 2,200-hectare urban expansion into outlying rural parcels.

Typically, you'll have your tallest buildings, your highest densities in the core," said Jason Thorne, the city's general manager of planning and economic development.

And that's one of the reasons why we thought it was good to spread that principle to other parts of the city."

Though the cap remains enshrined in the downtown secondary plan, developers argue the height limit makes little sense in the core or elsewhere in the city as Hamilton aims to reach provincial housing targets.

I think that each project should be viewed where they are and judged accordingly, and this hard-and-fast rule about 30 storeys is wrong," said Joe Mancinelli, vice-president of Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA).

The urban expansion and rejected cap are among 77 changes the province has imposed on the city's official plan, which the city submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for review this past summer.

The Ontario government told municipalities to update their long-term planning blue prints to accommodate an expected population boom that predicts 236,000 more residents in Hamilton by 2051.

Last year, responding to a grassroots campaign urging a firm boundary, council voted to hold the urban area intact and corral growth - which called for 110,000 more housing units - within the existing urban area.

To help realize that goal, the city has aimed for gentle density" through zoning reform that allows townhouses, secondary units and fourplex conversions in mostly single-detached neighbourhoods.

More changes, including small-scale apartment blocks on the fringes of those areas, are in the works for next year, chief planner Steve Robichaud noted.

The city is already ahead of where the province is proposing to go."

The province's official plan override, announced Nov. 4, has been met with fierce pushback from anti-sprawl advocates and some city councillors, but also praise from the residential construction industry.

Much of the debate has focused on urban sprawl," but then there's vertical sprawl," Robichaud points out.

The city aims to focus urban intensification along the future Main-King-Queenston LRT corridor, which is to run from McMaster to Eastgate Square.

Suddenly, now if the tall buildings are on some other street, or other parts of the city, you can actually have what I call intensification sprawl."

Think densely populated islands outside of walking distance to LRT stops, Robichaud suggested.

It may actually just create a situation where it has unintended consequences," whether it's car dependency or a highrise far from schools and businesses.

Hamilton's skyline, including downtown, already has buildings and new ones in the works that top 30 storeys.

Some predate current policies, while other applications have won greater heights through provincial tribunal challenges.

For instance, condo developer Brad Lamb is planning two 32-storey buildings called Television City at CHCH's former headquarters in the Durand neighbourhood.

At the city's redeveloped west harbour, a private consortium teamed up with the municipality to propose a 45-storey condo tower.

Construction of LIUNA's 34-storey condo building at 75 James St. S. at Jackson Street East is well underway after council's tribunal appeal ended with a settlement.

There's no detriment. There's no negative. There's nothing," said Mancinelli, noting the city's committee of adjustment had initially backed the case for four extra storeys.

The escarpment rule, in fact, is kind of a silly thing," he said, arguing developments in parts of Hamilton, including along main thoroughfares and the LRT line, shouldn't be limited to 30 storeys.

I'm not in favour of the (proposed) 100-storey skyscrapers that's Toronto's putting up. That's not what we're talking about. I think we're talking about intelligent design and designs that fit within certain neighbourhoods."

How the development industry reacts to the province's highrise intervention will boil down to a number of factors, says Mario Frankovich, Vrancor's vice-president of investment and strategic planning.

It's an economic calculation. Height will always have an economic advantage that brings down the cost per unit of land, but it's not the sole driver."

Market demands, as well as biting" interest rates that limit financing for would-be builders and buyers alike are also key variables.

Vrancor, whose focus has been on the construction of highrise apartments, doesn't have plans for anything cracking 30 storeys at the moment, Frankovich said.

The firm's highrise buildings along King Street West were the target of pushback from residents in the Strathcona neighbourhood worried about shadows and overdevelopment. They became the focus of a tribunal struggle.

But building heights alone aren't the only bone of contention when it comes to highrise development, Thorne suggests.

Design is also important, and if municipalities lose their ability to influence it, as pitched in the province's new Bill 23 - More Homes Built Faster Act - that's a big concern," he said.

Often, if you look at the debates that happen in neighbourhoods and communities about a dense building or a tall building, or just a change in general, a lot of concern boils down to the design consideration."

Robichaud put it this way: Density without design equals disaster."

Mancinelli, although broadly supportive of Bill 23's proposed measures, agrees cities must be vigilant" of sound design and quality building materials alike.

In its review of the city's official plan, the ministry also increased maximum heights in community nodes" (in parts of Ancaster, Dundas, Waterdown, Stoney Creek, east Hamilton and the south Mountain) up to eight storeys.

Those hikes - from three storeys on Wilson Street in Ancaster, for instance - along with not having a 30-storey cap, also pose new challenges for servicing capacity, Robichaud said.

We don't have planned sewer capacity, so that has to factor into the capital budget and that has to be then funded and paid for somehow."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com.