More threats to local farmland
There were renewed threats from the Ford provincial government pushing the city to open thousands of acres of Hamilton farmland to residential development. They arrive at a crucial time in council’s decision making. Officially, council’s freezing of the urban boundary to protect that farmland will be formally written into the official plan next month to meet the provincial government’s deadline for approval before the June 2 provincial election.
However, Queen’s Park gets to determine the final wording of municipal official plans and that decision will be taken this summer after the election. Consequently a re-elected Ford majority could revise Hamilton’s official plan or even demand the city start over.
Local Conservative MPP Donna Skelly last week decried the freezing of the urban boundary as “anti-housing” and “anti-growth”. This is a surprising accusation given that the main message of anti-sprawl groups has been saving farmland, and that all of those lands are part of Skelly’s Flambourgh-Glanbrook riding.
In fact, the city has no choice in the quantity of housing growth it will plan for over the next 30 years. That quantity is dictated by the provincial government. The only municipal choice is where to locate that additional housing.
Hamilton council’s draft plan is dedicated to providing exactly the same number of housing units as if it had opened up more farmland for development. And the city’s plans will almost certainly result in a more affordable housing mix with more duplexes, triplexes and apartments.
The argument raised by advocates of expanding the urban area - that growth could not be accommodated within the existing urban boundary - is increasingly questionable. Intensification rates jumped sharply last year even before the new zoning rules come into force .
A tweet last month from chief planner Steve Robichaud revealed that two-thirds of new units were constructed inside the built-up area in 2021. That 67 percent rate of intensification far exceeded previous highs and contradicted the earlier contention of planning staff and their consultants that a fifty percent rate could only be a “stretch goal”.
The big jump in intensification partly reflects an accumulation of housing policies adopted by Hamilton over the last several years that are summarized in a report going to councillors later this week. Staff’s overview of the city’s Strategic Plan to Create Affordable Housing Supply in the Secondary Rental Market particularly highlights the secondary dwelling unit bylaw approved last spring.
“Second dwelling units provide tremendous benefits to homeowners, tenants and the broader community. They increase property value and potential buyers will use them as an asset,” argues their report. “They make housing more affordable because of their size and sharing residence with another property; they provide long-term healthy alternative housing arrangements for households including seniors and families, contribute to community sustainability and are innovative housing solutions.”
The SDU option is now available across both the urban and rural area, allowing one unit within the existing house and another on larger lots. Staff contend that SDUs “conserve land by adding to an existing unit without need for additional land; offer affordable housing choice within the existing housing stock in established communities to assist both owners and tenants; provide health alternative living choices for seniors and families … and create economic development opportunities for homeowners, investors and local contractors.”
Skelly’s accusations and their magnification by others in the Ford government also may be intended to spur campaign donations from the wealthy developers and speculators who want urban boundaries expanded.
