'We're not going to relent': Hamilton public meeting over Greenbelt land development gets heated

Under a dusky sky, hundreds of Hamilton residents filed into a community centre, ready to weigh in on the Ford government's contentious decision to remove land from Ontario's Greenbelt. 

They filled the 470-seat auditorium Wednesday night, many carrying "Hands off the Greenbelt'' signs and ready to voice their opposition. 

The city's chief planner, Steve Robichaud, acknowledged from the stage how unpopular developing land on Book Road, White Church Road and Fifty Road is in Hamilton. A significant number of residents don't want it, and neither does the mayor or council, or staff for that matter, he said. 

But, Robichaud said, the purpose of the meeting wasn't to debate whether or not the land should be removed. It was for the city to gather feedback on what community benefits staff should push for as they reluctantly enter negotiations with builders and landowners, through a provincial facilitator. 

Community benefits could be requiring developers to include an ecological preserve, affordable housing or renewable energy sources in their subdivisions. The province hasn't provided any "rule book" on what municipalities can ask for, Robichaud said.

"Yes, this is being done under protest and yes, the province holds all the cards," he said.

"We as staff, as council, as well as the public are struggling with this process and how it plays out. But as the premier indicated, they're not rolling back this decision." 

Minister expects construction to begin by 2025

Ontario's new housing minister, Paul Calandra, said earlier Wednesday that development would proceed on 14 sites removed from the Greenbelt, including three in Hamilton and two in Grimsby. He said he expects construction to get underway on those sites by 2025.

At the same time, Calandra said, he will also be carrying out a wider review of all protected lands, suggesting more areas could be opened for housing construction. 

For some residents, it was too soon to accept development will actually happen on the three rural sites in Hamilton. During a question-and-answer session with staff, residents called on the city to fight the land removal in court, use stalling tactics to prolong the approval process or abandon negotiations altogether. 

"I don't see any benefits that we're going to reap by going along with this facilitation process," said Lucia Iannantuono, who ran for the Green Party in the last provincial byelection. "What is stopping us from saying, 'This is a sham?'" 

Hamilton resident Patrick Antila voiced opinion about Premier Doug Ford.  

"The reason that he is overriding all of us is because he doesn't care, he doesn't care what we think," Antila said. "We're not going to relent until the Greenbelt is not developed."

Greenbelt landowner says Ontario process not fair

Robichaud said it's better for staff to secure some benefits for the community than walk away and not get anything out of the development.

Regardless of whether the city reaches an agreement with developers, the housing minister has the power to issue a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) to allow development to proceed, Robichaud said. That order overrides any municipal laws — including existing housing restrictions on the Book Road and White Church lands due to noise from the nearby airport.

The minister also doesn't have to approve community benefits, Robichaud said.

"I would hope though if there was an agreement between the landowner and municipality, they would honour that," he said.

Some property owners of Greenbelt land were in the audience at the public meeting, including farmer and veterinarian Tom Nugent. 

He told city staff that mistakes were made when the Greenbelt was originally formed in 2005. His land off of Twenty Road was added despite it being unsuitable for farming and already connected to city infrastructure, he said. 

"Now, the Ford government is not correcting this mistake, but is favouring rich developers who recently bought up the land in the Greenbelt," wrote Nugent in a flyer he handed out to audience members. "Please stand up for democracy and accountability .. and finally correct this mistake."