City backs saving marsh
The Garner Road marsh in the headwaters of Ancaster Creek has gotten another substantial boost. The city has thrown its weight behind last June’s decision of the Hamilton Conservation Authority to block destruction and ‘replacement’ of the marsh by an Alberta government corporation which has been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
“The relocation of the watercourse, removal of the wetland and creation of a new wetland … does not comply with the policies of the Urban Hamilton Official Plan and the Airport Employment Growth District Secondary Plan”, states a May 3 in camera planning committee resolution made public after ratification by council on May 11. It directs city lawyers to “seek party status” at the OLT hearing and “support the HCA’s refusal” to grant a permit to the developers.
The council resolution also says the changes to Ancaster Creek and its marsh aren’t compatible with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe or the Provincial Policy Statement which are the overriding rules overseeing development across the province. And it authorizes spending to retain “outside professional(s) in support of council’s opposition to the proposal.”
Before making its decisions, the city planning committee received over 70 letters and heard from two delegations advocating for the protection of the marsh and Ancaster Creek headwaters. These resident interventions also encouraged the city to support the HCA permit refusal, and to oppose the developer push to combine two separate appeals at the OLT.
The Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) wants relocation of the marsh and part of the creek on the 89 acre property to allow construction of five large warehouses including over 200 truck bays and more than 1000 surface parking spaces. AIMCo manages Alberta pension funds and is two-thirds owner of the controversial Coastal Gas Link pipeline under construction across unceded Indigenous lands in northern British Columbia.
On May 9, after the council direction but before it was made public, a preliminary OLT session heard from city lawyer Patrick Macdonald. In addition to seeking status as directed by council, Macdonald also opposed the developers’ desire to combine the appeal of the HCA with a hearing about the overall proposals for the Garner Road site. That aligned with the positions taken by the lawyers for the Conservation Authority and for the non-profit charity Environmental Defence.
The developers’ second appeal is based on proposals for the lands made to the city in 2018 by a previous owner and which appeared to have been abandoned after comments from the city were not responded to. But the new owners are basing their appeal on provincial rules that require municipalities to make a decision within 120 days of receiving development plans.
A visual representation of the current plans shown to the OLT is quite different from the 2018 plans which did not include changing the marsh. The visual was similar to what they showed to the HCA last June.
Macdonald told councillors at the May 3 meeting that “applicants are entitled to amend their application at the appeal” and this appears to be what is happening. About 30 individuals have applied for participant status in the hearings which allows each to make a written statement, but one that is supposed to be submitted along with the request to be a participant.
The OLT hearing officers are expected to release decisions shortly on whether there will be separate hearings or a combined one. The expected timing of full hearings is April-May of next year.
