CATCH Articles:
Aerotropolis committee may muzzle opponents
Nov 04, 2007
The city’s new community liaison committee (CLC) on the aerotropolis appears to be stacked against opponents of the project. A draft terms of reference being circulated by the city proposes restrictive rules on the provincially-mandated committee and reveals a membership list who mainly support going ahead with the controversial business park that will absorb 3000 acres of farms and other rural lands.
Hamiltonians for Progressive Development (HPD) took the city to the Ontario Municipal Board in 2005 after city council tried to jump-start the airport-centred commercial and industrial development before completing the required planning processes.
HPD was joined by the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs in the challenge, which resulted in a settlement in September 2006 that forced the city to backtrack and ordered it to include HPD in a public consultation process about the aerotropolis proposal.
The citizen’s group has been assigned one of the 15 seats on the new liaison committee, but a majority of the other appointees appear to be strongly pro-aerotropolis. They include city councillors Lloyd Ferguson and Dave Mitchell and airport president Richard Koroscil, as well as representatives from each of the Chamber of Commerce, the realtors association, and Swisscan Developments Inc, a private company seeking to develop lands near the airport.
There’s also a representative of the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Advisory Committee, a city committee that includes both Ferguson and Mitchell.
These two councillors also sit on the city committee that chose the four citizen representatives appointed to the CLC – a local housing developer, a real estate agent, the former planner for the township of Glanbrook, and an air traffic controller who intervened on behalf of the city at the OMB hearing.
Rounding out the liaison committee are one person each from Six Nations, Environment Hamilton and the Hamilton and District Labour Council.
The draft terms of reference for the committee was sent out last week by Guy Paparella, the city’s aerotropolis manager. It says the CLC will make decisions by consensus, but goes on to offer a special definition for this term:
“Consensus is defined as ‘I have had the opportunity to express my views and/or feelings. I believe I have been heard and understood. If I was making the decision myself, I would not necessarily go in the group’s direction. However, because I have had the opportunity to influence others and truly feel everyone understands what I think/feel, I will support this group’s decision now and in the future’.”
The terms of reference set out three goals for the committee – “to learn about the operation of the Hamilton International Airport as well as future plans for development and expansion; to learn about market trends with respect to industrial employment lands; [and] to work co-operatively with other CLC members, staff and consultants.”
The aerotropolis plan has never been subject to a public consultation process. It was presented as part of the Growth Related Integrated Development Strategy in 2005 and 2006 where it drew extensive opposition. But critics found they couldn’t actually choose to reject it because it was part of each and every option put forward by city staff.
Opponents challenge the need for the massive expansion of the existing airport business park – much of which has sat undeveloped for years. They also question the loss of prime agricultural land and the still uncalculated cost to the city of servicing this area – estimated at well over $100 million.
The first meeting of the CLC will take place Wednesday evening at 7 pm in the Mount Hope Community Centre. The public can attend, but the draft terms of reference specifically state that they will not be allowed to make presentations to the committee.
The CLC will report to city council through the Airport Implementation Task Force, a council sub-committee that also includes Ferguson and Mitchell.