Hamilton chief planner says ex-Greenbelt land won't be housing ready for years

Despite Premier Doug Ford's insistence developers will begin building homes on former Greenbelt land by 2025, Hamilton's chief planner says the city remains largely in the dark about how that's possible.

Earlier this week, Ford warned developers in a statement that if they didn't show "real progress" on approvals by the end of this year and a plan to get "shovels in the ground by 2025" their land would be returned to the Greenbelt. 

There are three sites within Hamilton where these deadlines apply — the Fifty Road land (sometimes called the Barton Street land), the Book Road land and the Mount Hope land.

Although the sites were removed from the Greenbelt a year ago, the city has received "very limited information" about what developers are envisioning, chief planner Steve Robichaud told CBC Hamilton. He also doesn't know what the premier's definition of "real progress" is.

But based on his knowledge of the sites, Robichaud estimates that only the Fifty Road land in Stoney Creek is close enough to existing subdivisions and infrastructure that it's reasonable to expect houses could be built there by 2025.

That's with the caveat "the city hasn't made any determination of the full scope of work," he said.

It will take years to prep 2 sites for housing: planner

The other two considerably larger sites, known as the Book Road land and Mount Hope land, are on the rural fringes of the city and another matter entirely, he said. 

Assuming all goes smoothly negotiating with property owners, purchasing the land, doing a site design and getting city approvals, the soonest developers would be able to start building is late 2025 or early 2026, Robichard said. 

But those shovels in the ground would not be to construct houses but rather to prepare infrastructure to support future development, such as connecting water lines, building roads and sewers and pregrading the site, Robichaud said.

"We're starting basically from ground zero," Robichaud said. "We never contemplated urbanization of those areas. We've always respected the Greenbelt." 

Another big question mark is who'll be paying for it all — taxpayers, developers or both, he said.

After these aspects are figured out, Robichaud said the soonest he estimates developers could start digging foundations would be late 2026. Then homes would start to go up in phases after that, but it could take several more years until the last home is built.

When CBC Hamilton asked the province for more clarity, it sent a link to a news release that spokesperson Caitlin Clark said sets "clear conditions" for the land.

"Affected areas must be on or near readily serviceable land," the release says. 

"It is the government's expectation that new home construction will begin on these lands by no later than 2025."

City to host a public meeting

While controversy continues to plague the Ford government's decision to remove land from the Greenbelt, Hamilton is forging ahead with gathering public feedback. 

There's an online survey open for comments until Sept. 8, as well as a community open house next week. But the focus won't be on whether or not residents agree with the removal of three sites in Hamilton, Robichaud said.

Even though the city doesn't agree with it, "the decision has already been made to remove those lands," he said. 

With council's direction, the city will be seeking feedback about what community benefits it should push for in discussions with the province. 

Community benefits are projects that would enhance the development, like establishing an ecological preserve, constructing a recreation centre or library or incorporating renewable energy like solar panels.

The city will present its findings and requests at a future meeting with Ontario's land and development facilitator Paula Dill, who is moderating negotiations between municipalities and developers of former Greenbelt land.

Hamilton MPPs Sandy Shaw of the NDP and Donna Skelly of the Progressive Conservative Party, along with Dill, were invited to attend the public meeting. Only Shaw confirmed to CBC Hamilton she would be there.

"It's an important meeting, not just for Hamilton but for the rest of the municipalities," Shaw said. 

"This is certainly a process that's tilted in favour of developers. And I am counting on Hamiltonians to come as they do and make perfectly clear how we feel about this Greenbelt grab."

The meeting will take place on Sept. 6 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre, Peller Hall, 357 Wilson St. E. Staff will make a presentation followed by a moderated question and answer session.