Provincial housing push risks ‘open season’ on paving Hamilton wetlands, say critics

Critics fear new provincial housing legislation will allow developers to pave over wetlands, encourage the sale of protected conservation lands and make it harder for cities like Hamilton to fight climate change.

The new Build Homes Faster Act aims to ramp up home construction amid a provincewide housing and affordability crisis. It includes measures earning some praise from housing advocates - such as default zoning to allow up to three units on any residential lot and more density near transit hubs.

But the assorted changes also propose to limit and streamline" the regulatory roles of Ontario's watershed protection agencies, including locally the Hamilton, Halton and Niagara Peninsula conservation authorities. The plan also calls for the re-evaluation" of the significance - and therefore protection level - of some wetlands.

It's going to be open season for paving them," predicted Phil Pothen, a planning lawyer with advocacy group Environmental Defence. The most impactful changes appear designed to push development into sprawl, to remove obstacle to rolling over the countryside."

Conservation authorities are responsible for protecting and regulating watersheds - in Hamilton, the drainage areas of local creeks that flow into Lake Ontario or the harbour. Responsibilities include flood control, wetland protection and land conservation.

But the government is now asking agencies to examine their landholdings for developable" property, noted Hamilton New Democrat MPP Sandy Shaw.

Hamilton's conservation authority has more than 10,000 acres of protected land, including 12 significant wetlands - some of which has been donated over the years for presumed permanent conservation.

Now they've got their eyes on conservation lands to sell to developers," Shaw said. But available land is not the problem ... Conservation authorities are not the problem when it comes to more housing."

The province did not immediately respond to questions from The Spectator about the proposed changes.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announced last week the province wants to ensure conservation authorities focus on their core mandate" of flood protection.

But the Conservation Halton board sent an open letter to Premier Doug Ford Monday urging him to press pause" on the housing bill, arguing it leaves even the basic functions of watershed protection at risk.

Agency president Hassaan Basit said Monday the proposed changes risk eroding the integrity of our core mandate," for example making it unnecessary in some cases to obtain watershed agency approval for developments in floodplains or other hazard lands."

Other environmental issues raised about the sweeping provincial housing legislation include:

• Ending common agreements with municipalities to have conservation authorities review city development applications. They play a very valuable role for us," said city planning head Jason Thorne in a recent interview. The question for us is if they are no longer able to do that work, who will?"

• Reducing city site-plan approval over smaller developments. If this change goes ahead, Hamilton will no longer be able to control elements like street trees and stormwater management for some developments. Those things are important from a climate change perspective," Thorne said.

• Wetland re-evaluating/offsetting: in addition to a potential re-evaluation" of what makes a significant wetland, the province wants to look at more offsetting" options. In theory, that would allow a developer to pave over a wetland and pay into a fund," said Basit.

• Limiting third-party appeals of planning matters to the Ontario Land Tribunal by community and advocacy groups or nearby residents. This measure is meant to eliminate Not in My Backyard" (NIMBY) efforts to slow down needed housing developments.

But it might also squash future environmental protection efforts, said Nancy Hurst of Stop Sprawl HamOnt. Local groups backed by Environmental Defence are before the tribunal now to fight a controversial warehouse development on the Garner Marsh, a wetland at the headwaters of Ancaster Creek.

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