City staff oppose Ford governments plan to build 1.5M homes on Greenbelt land

The planning department at Hamilton city hall says it opposes the Ford government’s legislation to open up Greenbelt lands for more homes.

City staff presented a report to the planning committee saying the Ford government’s housing bill will destroy environmental protection, limit city staff to impose bylaws on rental developments, and leave Hamilton on the hook for development costs.

The staunch opposition regarding the Ford government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes on Greenbelt land continued but city staff says they have no choice but to work around it.

During a planning committee meeting, city staff issued a report that says the province’s housing bill will lead to a loss of conservation land. It will also impact affordability and have severe financial implications for the city.

The Tories are also axing fees municipalities collect from developers. Money that could be used to pay for roads, utilities, and other city resources.

City staff says Bill 23 will also limit the city’s ability to require replacement rental units and other tenant supports when a conversion or demolition is proposed.

Since passing the legislation more than 7,000 acres of Greenbelt land are poised for new subdivisions including in the Elfrida area in Hamilton.

There’s no word yet on how much money Hamilton will miss out on but according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, cities could be on the hook for roughly $5 billion on axed development fees. Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie says her city is will lose nearly $900 million.

Wednesday at Queen’s Park, Ontario Housing Minister Steve Clark faced repeated questions regarding reports about developers buying Greenbelt land in the last few years. “The government has done right on the first day we took office, we consulted on the plan for Greater Golden Horseshoe,” Clark said.

The Green party is also asking Ontario’s integrity commissioner to investigate whether Premier Doug Ford or housing minister Steve Clark gave developers advance notice of plans to open up parts of the Greenbelt for housing.