Ancaster residents concerned about urban boundary impact on agricultural lands

Environmentalists, homeowners and even residents of the agricultural community have voiced their opposition to the city about expanding the existing urban boundary.

While prime agricultural land that R. W. Inksetter and Sons farm along Carluke Road at the popular Carluke Orchards isn't directly in the way of a potential urban boundary expansion, the impacts will still affect Hamilton's rural community.

It's a slippery slope," said Michelle Inksetter, whose family started to grow the orchard in 1965. We really can't let it happen."

The city is considering pushing its urban boundary outward so that more than 1,300 hectares of so-called whitebelt" land - property outside its current urban boundary that isn't designated as Greenbelt land - can be developed.

Hamilton is expected to increase by 110,300 new households and a net increase of 236,000 people by 2051.

The provincial government is requiring municipalities to update their planning documents and expand boundaries to accommodate the expected growth. Municipalities have a deadline to provide the planning documents by July 2022.

Inksetter said her family has been farming in the Ancaster area for about 200 years and they have seen significant changes over the years to the area, including the encroachment of development.

She said for the Ancaster area, a possible boundary expansion would occur along Garner Road East. More development could eventually mean higher traffic numbers and possibly other costs for the rural community to absorb.

This is prime agricultural land, and we need as much of it as possible," she said.

Ancaster resident Nancy Hurst, who helped to organize the Stop the Sprawl" rally against any urban boundary expansion, said during a recent general issues committee meeting that allowing it to happen will significantly impact the area's biodiversity and exacerbate climate change.

We are either part of the problem or we are part of the solution," she said. Once we pave it, (farmland) is gone."

Drew Spoelstra, vice-president of Ontario Federation of Agriculture, who has been a member of the city's agricultural and rural affairs advisory committee, has said that agriculture has been the backbone" in Hamilton.

He has already called on the city to freeze its urban boundaries and protect food-producing land. He has also urged the city to focus on building within the city, which would include building up, not out."

There are about 4,320 hectares of whitebelt land in the city, but about half can't be used because of restrictions related to the airport. City officials have said once you remove the natural heritage features, cemeteries, and rights-of-way, only about 1,600 hectares can be developed.

The city's review states that prime agricultural lands should be avoided where possible" and any expansion should be prohibited into specialty crop areas.

Lynda Lukasik, executive director of Environment Hamilton, reiterated her organization's opposition to any urban boundary expansion at a recent general issues committee meeting.

There is a huge potential for grey fields to be developed," she said, referring to land near Centennial Parkway for instance.

Steve Robichaud, the city's planner director, said staff is reviewing urban boundary expansion through various prisms, including storm water management, natural resources, water resources, transit, natural hazards, fiscal costs, and climate change.

This is more than just an urban boundary exercise," he said.

Hamilton councillors are scheduled to vote on a possible urban boundary expansion in late October. Prior to that, planning staff has agreed to release the results of a city-initiated survey on whether residents agreed with a boundary expansion or not.

The city received about a 10 per cent response rate, significantly more than what had been expected, said officials. There were about 8,000 letters and another 11,000 emails. Robichaud said staff will target the middle of September to release the survey results.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We wanted to hear what the agricultural community had to say about Hamilton's potential urban boundary expansion.