In a victory for Environment Hamilton and other advocates of foodland preservation, virtually all of the city’s recommendations to remove land from the protected Greenbelt or otherwise weaken its rules were rejected or ignored by the provincial government. Underlines the divergence between the city and Queen’s Park, the Wynne government is emphasizing rapid transit, higher residential densities and restrictions on boundary expansions that also run counter to the views of the majority of Hamilton councillors.
The majority of council sought to remove 104 hectares of protected fruitbelt lands in Winona and Stoney Creek and 28 hectares of farmland north of Waterdown. In a ‘let’s-make-a-trade’ offer councillors supported adding of 430 hectares in Glanbrook to the Greenbelt, but decided against offering 450 hectares in Ancaster, west of Fiddlers Green Road.
The province decided to add both pieces to the Greenbelt, but to reject nearly all of the removals except for a tenth of the Winona parcel and approximately a third of the east Stoney Creek one. Their explanation makes no reference to the city’s removals request but instead says the changes “reflect matters that were already in a planning process prior to the creation of the Greenbelt Plan and thus [were] allowed to continue.”
The Winona parcel sought by the city for more development includes part of the watershed of Fifty Creek, and the provincial proposals will add the rest of the creek valley down to Lake Ontario to the protected Greenbelt – an addition that was not recommended by council.
The city’s last minute push for the Waterdown removal was ignored entirely, as was council’s recommendation that municipalities be allowed to seek Greenbelt changes whenever they wish instead of only during the established 10-year reviews. Instead the provincial report proposes to reduce municipal powers: “Under the proposed changes to the Greenbelt Plan, municipal support would not be required to add new lands to the Greenbelt.”
Environment Hamilton says the provincial report “is a huge victory” for both the non-profit group “and all of the organization’s local Greenbelt supporters who raised concerns about the extensive areas of the Greenbelt proposed by the city for removal.” But it is urging Hamiltonians to push for more local river valleys to be added to the Greenbelt to join the twenty-one being added across the province.
“We are generally pleased with this outcome” said executive director Lynda Lukasik. “EH has worked long and hard to inform and engage Hamiltonians on this issue. And Hamiltonians responded by attending public meetings and contacting their provincial representatives to make their concerns known. While this recommendation means some agricultural lands may ultimately be lost to urban development, our efforts have helped to ensure the continued protection of important specialty crop and other prime agricultural lands in our community.”
City council has also not been granted several requested changes to the Niagara Escarpment Plan, although a further review of those boundaries is still to come. But the fact that requested changes by one other municipality were accepted by the province suggests Hamilton’s wishes may already have been turned down.
The province is also proposing stronger rules to discourage sprawl and support residential intensification. The current requirement for 40 percent of new growth to take place inside the built-up part of the city is to be increased to 60 percent. And the rule that greenfield development must accommodate at least 50 residents and/or jobs per hectare is being bumped up to 80.
“The plans work together to curb urban sprawl and create healthy, walkable, higher-density communities that support transit and have more green space,” states the provincial report. “Since these compact, complete communities are more energy efficient, they also produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions.”
That reference to climate change is underlined by other parts of the report that remind Ontarians that the Greenbelt absorbs emissions and provides a critical role in food security.
“The Greenbelt acts as a carbon sink. It absorbs and stores greenhouse gases, reducing the region’s overall emissions. The Greater Golden Horseshoe’s agricultural land and water resources will become increasingly important as other food producing regions face lower crop yields due to changes in weather patterns.”
The provincial report is still subject to one more round of consultation that could result in further changes. The Hamilton open house is at the Convention Centre from 5 to 8 pm on Tuesday, June 21.
One potential change is an extension of the Greenbelt protected area into Brant County and other areas experiencing intense development pressure outside the Greater Golden Horseshoe. “The province is also looking at the possible expansion of the Greenbelt outside of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area where important water resources are under pressure from urban growth,” notes the report.