If you’ve been following Hamilton municipal politics recently, then no doubt you are aware of the contentious debate over the proposed urban boundary expansion. The viable farmland that exists between the developed part of Hamilton and the border of the greenbelt is the current battleground for developers in the 905 seeking to exploit Hamilton’s remaining green field locations for, from their perspective, low-cost single-family home ‘sprawl’ development.
Council is in vigorous debates over whether or not to allow the boundary to extend into this space, and is scheduled to vote on November 9th. Developers are eager to build new single-family unit homes, and the debate has provoked the personal intervention of Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs, Steve Clark, who wrote an Op-Ed in The Hamilton Spectator advocating the urgency for developing the lands and claiming not expanding is not an option.
To get their way, they’ll have to go through a grassroots organization mobilizing to keep the urban boundary right where it is. Stop Sprawl HamOnt is fighting to turn attention away from expansion into farmland and to direct the focus to intensification in the downtown core. One of the founders of this group is Nancy Hurst. Nancy helped to found Stop Sprawl HamOnt in January 2020. The campaign has gathered over 5000 supporters and peppered the city with anti-sprawl lawn signs. She joins us to discuss the campaign and how we should be thinking of our cities in the wider 905.
Stop Sprawl Ham ONT Website – https://www.ssho.ca
If you are interested in delegating or otherwise providing your opinion to Hamilton Council on this subject, sign up to learn how at: https://www.environmenthamilton.org/delegate_workshop
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