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September
2000 Newsletter
Urban
Boundary Expansion - Another Dumb Move
In
June, regional council over-ruled its professional planning
staff and adopted an Official Plan amendment to expand the
region's urban boundary into prime farmland in Glanbrook.
The Conserver Society, Citizens for a Sustainable Community,
and Action 2020 have all filed appeals of the decision to
the Ontario Municipal Board.
The
unrestrained growth and urban sprawl facilitated by the
council decision worsens many of the Region's biggest problems,
including the huge shortfall in water and sewer maintenance,
the decline of the transit system, and the pressure to build
the Red Hill Expressway. Here is some background on the
issue.
Vision
2020 recommended a fixed urban boundary, and regional council
incorporated this into the 1995 Official Plan. The intent
was to control urban sprawl and encourage infill and re-development
in the older parts of the region, especially downtown Hamilton.
A fixed boundary should eventually stop greenfield developments
and should provide a strong incentive for brownfield redevelopment.
One
of the complications is that hundreds of acres of undeveloped
lands are already inside the urban boundary. Over time,
a fixed boundary should also reduce the demand for new roads,
water and sewer pipes, and other expensive infrastructure.
Instead growth would be accommodated in areas already serviced
with existing infrastructure. The Lincoln Alexander Parkway
and the Red Hill Creek Expressway are only the most expensive
examples of new infrastructure to service urban sprawl.
The
Official Plan is reviewed every five years and was supposed
to happen this year, but has been postponed to 2001 because
of the amalgamation. Numerous developers, however, have
been demanding that their rural properties be brought inside
the urban boundary. Staff rejected nearly all these demands
as unnecessary and premature. However, they did agree to
tentatively expanding into Winona, dependent on approval
from the provincial ministry of agriculture, which many
people believe they won't get because these lands include
specialty crop areas.
However, against the recommendation of their staff, regional
council decided in March to add about 450 acres located
south of Rymal Road (#53) between Trinity Church Road and
Highway 56. The lands in this area are classified as "prime
agricultural lands" and would normally sell for about $2000
per acre as agricultural land (current zoning), but their
'value' would jump to over $100,000 an acre if used for
residential subdivisions. Indeed the Spectator has reported
they have already passed the $40,000 per acre mark.
These
lands also lie south of Red Hill Valley and adjacent to
the Heritage Green area of Stoney Creek which has brought
the expressway into the issue. In 1991, in response to the
NDP decision to stop funding for the expressway, regional
council imposed a "population cap" of 15,000 people on Heritage
Green. Subsequently this "cap" was raised to 16,500 and
then raised again to 21,000. The current population is about
16,000, but the Region is hoping for growth to nearly 40,000
by 2021. This growth wish is likely the major driving force
behind the expressway in Red Hill Valley.
After
the Council rejected staff's recommendation to not expand
the urban boundary in this area, staff proposed a number
of conditions on development of this area. One condition
was that development of these lands not be permitted to
proceed until the north-south expressway has received final
approval. Council rejected this condition on June 20.
Five councillors voted against the original decision to
expand the urban boundary. They were Geri Copps, Mary Kiss,
Dave Braden, Andrea Horwath and John Addison. When the issue
returned to council in June as an Official Plan Amendment,
one additional councillor, Russ Powers, voted against it.
The
lands being changed to urban are all prime agricultural
lands. They are either class one, class two or class three
and can be used to grow food crops. Less than 5% of Canada's
lands fall into these prime agricultural categories. Over
half of all Canada's class one lands are located in southern
Ontario. This specific proposal would take 185 hectares
out of agricultural production.
Contrary
to the claims of the developers, there are no provincial
rules that support this urban expansion. The provincial
government requires that municipalities have a three year
supply of residential units in registered or draft approved
stages. Hamilton-Wentworth currently has 11,445 residential
units with this planning status. At the current rate of
construction of 1800 units per year, this represents over
six year's supply.
When
"proposed" and "designated" units and lands are added to
registered and draft approved units, Hamilton-Wentworth
has an available supply of 46,490 units. At the current
rate of construction, this represents 25.8 years supply.
Provincial rules specify that the Region must only have
a ten year supply of residential lands.
In
addition to the supply noted above, regional staff estimate
very conservatively that 6,300 additional units can be obtained
by infill develpment and redevelopment within the existing
urban boundary. This brings the available supply to over
29 YEARS supply.
There
is a provincial requirement that municipalities have UP
TO a 20 year supply for land development, but this includes
commercial and industrial lands as well as residential.
At the current rate of development, Hamilton-Wentworth has
a 93 year supply of available industrial land (not counting
old unused industrial sites). The Region also has a 50 year
supply of available commercial land (450 acres when need
is forecast to be 180 acres). In addition, there are currently
over 4000 vacant commercial buildings and units across the
Region despite the current economic boom.
Regional
staff reasonably proposed that the gross oversupply of empty
industrial and commercial lands be reduced by converting
some of these to residential designations. If only the excess
industrial and commercial lands were converted in this way,
it would generate over 2500 acres (1042 hectares). At the
current rate of use that would provide an additional 15.5
years of supply of residential units (at the current averages
of 27.2 units per hectare and 1800 units built per year).
The
appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board will be expensive
and the groups involved will have to raise funds in the
community. The appeals will also be expensive for taxpayers
because the Region must hire outside consultants to defend
the politicians' position, since their own staff are opposed
to the expansion.
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"Stopping
Urban Sprawl"
A public forum with John Sewell, former Mayor of Toronto
and head of the Commission on New Planning for Ontario,
will be held:
Thursday, September 21 at 7:30 pm
Room A, Hamilton Central Library
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