-The Greenbelt was…

-The Greenbelt was established to confer on-going protection -land swaps were not envisioned as this defeats the purpose of creating a Greenbelt to protect farmland & curb urban sprawl.
-The Hamilton parcels proposed for removal contain prime farmland & significant natural features that must be protected to ensure food security, climate resilience, protection of biodiversity, wetlands & waterways.
-Expansion into the Greenbelt for urban development is completely unnecessary & unjustifiable. The city
already developed a viable plan to accommodate urban growth to 2051 within the existing urban area.
-This will not speed up the provision of more housing, nor will it provide more affordable housing options.
These areas are unserviced & there are no requirements to build affordable housing.
-The financial implications of such significant outward expansion in Hamilton is huge and the burden of these additional costs will be borne, in large part, by existing municipal taxpayers.
-The proposed addition of lands is not a like-for-like replacement & does not justify the land removals.