Hamilton urban boundary expansion opponents rage over new provincial mandate

City councillors and local environmental advocates say the battle for Hamilton's urban boundary has been reignited" with the announcement that the Ford government will be rejecting the city's pitch to freeze its urban footprint.

The decision, delivered late Friday evening, instead directs the city to expand into the countryside, allowing up to 2,200 hectares of farmland to be used for potential new housing development.

It comes on the heels of a separate Tory government proposal to allow new housing on some protected Hamilton lands in the Greenbelt despite a prior pledge not to do so.

Many were quick to decry the decision, with a number of city officials, councillors-elect and local organizations taking to social media over the weekend to lament the move.

In a statement late Friday, incoming mayor Andrea Horwath called the decision very concerning," while noting that cities work well when they are planned to be complete communities."

She pledged to work closely" with council and city staff to chart the best path forward" for residents.

Stop Sprawl HamOnt, which took part in the fight for the boundary freeze, hosted a pop-up rally outside Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MPP Neil Lumsden's office Sunday morning. Dozens of protesters lined the sidewalk along Highway 8, holding banners and cheering as passersby seemingly honked their horns in solidarity.

Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner called the decision completely outrageous and unacceptable," noting that Hamiltonians had made their voices heard on the issue last year.

City council made headlines late in 2021 when it rejected a staff recommendation to expand the urban boundary in response to a grassroots citizen campaign that called on the city to protect farmland, mitigate the climate crisis and avoid the infrastructure costs of sprawl."

The only thing that is going to stop (Premier Doug Ford) is citizens and elected leaders like myself and others, standing up, speaking out and pushing back," said Schreiner. We need the province ... to respect municipalities."

Speaking to the crowd, Stop Sprawl Halton representative Lucy Sanci questioned the presence of democracy in the mandate that has now been imposed onto the city, noting that the fight against urban sprawl has been resparked."

We deserve to have our voices heard," said Sanci. We have to keep the pressure on them ... (the government) can't just secretly sprawl our way to no farmland."

Incoming Ward 12 Coun. Craig Cassar called the decision an egregious overstep," noting that he, as well as others around the horseshoe, will fight the move however they can.

Last year, city planning staff recommended an expansion of 1,600 hectares. Council rejected that option, arguing growing within city boundaries would be healthier for the environment and taxpayer finances.

Now the city faces an ordered expansion of closer to 2,200 hectares. The decision, made by housing minister Steve Clark, cannot be appealed to a tribunal.

Cassar, who is also the co-founder of Save Our Streams, told The Spectator that the expansion of the urban boundary would create more traffic, eat away at local farmland and add to Hamilton's burgeoning infrastructure deficit, which already sits in the billions of dollars.

It's just going to force more people's taxes up every year," said Cassar. We don't want taxes to go up, and that's what we'd be forced to do here."

It's not clear what - if anything - the city can do to oppose the plan. However, the minister's decision indicates no development can happen in the expanded urban boundary lands before a secondary plan is completed for those areas.

Several other city officials and councillor-elects, many of whom supported the maintaining of the boundary during the recent election campaign, took to Twitter over the weekend to condemn the decision.

Ward 1 Coun. Maureen Wilson called the move a betrayal of public trust (and) contempt" for residents, while describing it as bad planning, financially irresponsible (and) environmentally disastrous."

Ward 8 Coun. John-Paul Danko said the move to freeze the urban boundary was the single most significant decision" by council, noting that the city is united on the issue like nothing else."

We can and we will resist," Danko wrote.

However, some have welcomed the decision.

In an emailed statement Friday, the West End Builder's Association called the adjustments necessary and in the public interest," pointing to the region's housing shortage.

Without addressing this, Hamilton will continue to see major displacement of our residents to neighbouring communities," read the statement.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com