First development pitch looms for Hamilton’s former Greenbelt lands

A development group has approached the city about building homes on land controversially pulled out of the Ancaster Greenbelt - but planning staff want council direction" before discussing any projects in the formerly protected countryside.

Hamilton's lobbyist registry shows a consultant for Corbett Land Strategies is now seeking meetings with city bureaucrats and councillors related to community development" in the Book Road area.

That's in the middle of the largest swath of local land - nearly 1,800 acres - the Doug Ford government ordered removed from the protected Greenbelt in Hamilton late last year despite widespread protest.

Planning director Steve Robichaud confirmed a representative working on behalf of landowners" in the Book Road area reached out seeking discussions with the city and a provincial facilitator" tasked with making recommendations on former Greenbelt building plans to the minister of municipal affairs and housing.

Robichaud couldn't say what the landowner groups' development vision looks like because city planners have not yet agreed to meet on any prospective former Greenbelt projects.

We wanted to seek clear council direction ... before we participate in such discussions," said Robichaud, who is bringing an update report on the unique" Greenbelt development process to planning committee Tuesday.

Corbett Land Strategies is headed by veteran development consultant John Corbett, who has represented rural Book Road West landowners for decades - including through a failed campaign in 2016 to keep the area out of a then-expanding Greenbelt.

The Spectator reached out to Corbett about what kind of development is anticipated for the area but did not hear back Friday.

In a past interview, Corbett called the Ancaster Greenbelt lands - which are bordered by Garner, Shaver and Fiddler's Green roads - a logical extension" of the urban boundary because it is across the road" from existing serviced suburbs.

The area was only added to the Greenbelt in 2017 - and in error," in the opinion of landowner David Eccles, who spoke to The Spectator late last year.

When we bought, the land was outside (the Greenbelt)," said the Ancaster homebuilder, whose company purchased 50 acres on Book Road in 2005. We still want to develop it ... By putting it back in developable territory, they're really righting a mistake."

Local environmental groups, as well as the ward councillor, think otherwise.

Development in the Greenbelt is absolutely the wrong thing, for everybody," said Ancaster Councillor Craig Cassar, who is also a co-founder of grassroots sprawl opponent Save our Streams. It's not just the environmental degradation or the loss of farmland, but also just the cost to sustain a development outside the urban boundary.

If we're going to continually be forced to expand the area we have to service, for roads, for sewers, for stormwater, for everything ... It will drive taxes up and make life more expensive for all Hamiltonians."

Regardless, the province says it wants shovels in the ground quickly on up to 50,000 homes in 74,000 acres of land pulled out of the Greenbelt throughout the GTA. If significant progress is not made by 2025, Ontario says it may return those lands to the Greenbelt.

Technically, the former protected lands in Hamilton - which also include a smaller parcels along White Church Road in Mount Hope and Fifty Road in Winona - cannot be built on yet because they remain outside the city's urban boundary.

But the update report going to councillors Tuesday says the housing minister could use a Minister's Zoning Order (MZO) to trump normal planning rules and allow fast-tracked development.

At a recent housing announcement, Minister Steve Clark confirmed as much in response to a question from The Spectator, calling a MZO a tool to ensure zoning certainty" to meet the 2025 construction deadline on former Greenbelt lands.

Before such an order, cities will have the chance to negotiate and request certain community benefits" related to the proposed development in former Greenbelt lands. That could include anything from dedicated parkland to affordable housing guarantees to requests to add natural heritage features back into the Greenbelt.

City leaders could also choose not to negotiate with the would-be developers and provincial facilitator.

But the report emphasizes there are no regulatory ... requirements for landowners or the province to obtain the municipality's approval, consent or input prior to proceeding with a MZO and a development agreement."

The report recommends giving staff negotiation directions as well as to hold a public meeting to hear resident priorities.

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com