Ministry of Municipal…

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
777 Bay Street, 17th floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2J3

RE: File No: 019-6163
Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act Changes (Schedules 9 and 1 of Bill 23)
______________________________________________________________________

On behalf of the Upper West Side Landowners Group (UWSLG) (formerly Twenty Road West Landowners Group), Corbett Land Strategies Inc. (CLS) wishes to submit this letter in response to Bill 23’s proposed Planning Act amendments. These comments are in respect to lands located within the block of Twenty Road West, Upper James Street, Dickenson Road and Glancaster Road, in the City of Hamilton (Subject Lands). The landowners are in agreement with the changes as they are necessary to remove barriers on providing housing on a timely basis and which are needed to resolve the limited housing supply across the Province of Ontario.

This letter is in response to specific policies and processes that were overlooked through the latest City of Hamilton Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) Draft Official Plan Amendment No.167. An ERO submission letter (file no. 019-5732) was prepared in response to policy changes proposed by the City of Hamilton.

EMPLOYMENT CONVERSION REQUEST

The UWSLG participated within the City of Hamilton MCR process and submitted an Employment Conversion Request. The UWSLG requested that the City consider the conversion of approximately 55.2 hectares or 135.9 acres of employment lands, located within the Airport Employment Growth District (AEGD) Secondary Plan area. The request was made to support the creation of a mixed-use, compact residential and employment community. A community plan has been prepared which illustrates the locations of the proposed conversion and their proposed use (See Appendix A).

The lands proposed for conversion are located south of two formerly rural pockets (whitebelt areas) which are entirely surrounded by the urban area. The conversion lands are generally located to the south of the whitebelt areas and on either side of the future Garth Street extension (to Dickenson Road).

This request was needed to advance the development of a complete community, which will include the delivery of major infrastructure, mixed uses development as well incorporate employment uses near the existing John. C Munro Airport. The requested Employment Conversion is appropriate given the City’s identified surplus of employment lands, and will serve to create a land use buffer for existing residential uses that was denied by the City of Hamilton. At the November 19th, 2021, GIC meeting, Planning Staff presented the results of the final LNA and peer review which advised that the City had a surplus of approximately 60 ha of employment land.

At the April 20th, 2022, GIC meeting, Staff presented final recommendations for any conversion requests which included that the UWSLG conversion request not be approved. The employment conversion is justifiable given that provincial priorities to deliver housing units where there is infrastructure in place rather than space extensive warehousing and logistic units which are typically characterized by low employment and real estate assessment values. The conversion lands are also necessary to fully establish a complete community together with the whitebelt lands immediately located to the north. Please see Appendix A for further information on the location of the proposed conversion request.

NOISE RELATED POLICIES

In addition, the Subject Lands are located within the NEF 25 – 30 Noise Exposure Forecast Contours, which limit the use of the lands to non-sensitive land uses including residential under current municipal policy. The basis for these restrictions lie largely within the City of Hamilton’s noise related policies within both the Urban and Rural Official Plans which are not reflective of policies within the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS).

In Section C, 4.8 Airport (Table C.4.8.1), the requirements for development within the vicinity of the John. C Munro Airport are established such that the development of sensitive land uses cannot be permitted within an area of 28 NEF or greater. This table is therefore not consistent with Section 1.6.9.2 of the PPS which states that new infill residential development and other sensitive land uses are prohibited to the 30 NEF. Further, the PPS advises that redevelopment or infilling of residential land uses and other sensitive land uses may occur in areas above NEF 30 but must demonstrate that there will be no negative impacts on the long-term function of the airport.

Through the MCR, the City has sought to maintain the existing noise-related polices as well as existing NEF contour mapping (Appendix D). This mapping is outdated as it is reflective of 2010 forecasts, despite the availability of more current mapping prepared by the City and it’s consultants. In May 2011, the Hamilton International Airport completed the Airport Master Plan which included a Noise Impact and Evaluation Study, prepared by the City of Hamilton and Hamilton International Airport Limited (dated December 2006).

The Airport Master Plan concluded that through the NEF/NEP analysis, the long-term impact of noise on the surrounding community will generally diminish due to the introduction of new aircraft technologies. The current Official Plan mapping (UHOP & RHOP - Appendix D) is reflective of the 2010 NEF mapping and has yet to be updated to be reflective of most current noise exposure forecast, as depicted in the 2015 and 2025 horizons from the Airport Master Plan.

Figure 1: Appendix D – NEF Contours and Primary Zoning Regulation Area

Our request proposes to update the current official plan mapping, to be reflective of the noise exposure forecast as shown on Figure 12 of the Noise Impact and Evaluation Study (December 2006), which is the 2025 Noise Exposure Projection (including the extended runway 06, the displaced threshold removed). It is believed that the proposed update to the mapping would be in keeping with the results of the latest information available.

It is suggested that the policies contained within Chapter C, Table C.4.8.1 (Hamilton Official Plans) should be updated to ensure the City’s conformance with the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) (PPS) which provides direction on regulating land uses in proximity to airports. Specifically, Sec. 1.6.9.2 advises that:

Airports shall be protected from incompatible land uses and development by:
a) prohibiting new residential development and other sensitive land uses in areas near airports
above 30 NEF/NEP;
b) considering redevelopment of existing residential uses and other sensitive land uses or infilling of
residential and other sensitive land uses in areas above 30 NEF/NEP only if it has been
demonstrated that there will be no negative impacts on the long-term function of the airport; and
c) discouraging land uses which may cause a potential aviation safety hazard.

While the Urban Hamilton Official Plan (UHOP) seeks to achieve a positive relationship between development and the airport, it requires updating to ensure conformance with the PPS. Specifically, updates are required for the policies contained in Table C.4.8.1 as discussed:

Table C.4.8.1: Requirements for Development in the Vicinity of John C. Munro International Airport

Locational Criteria Requirements
1 35 NEF and greater, and/or within the Airport Influence Area a) All new development of
residential and other sensitive
land uses, including infill
development and
redevelopment, shall be
prohibited.

b) New land uses which may
cause a potential aviation
hazard shall be prohibited.

2 28 NEF and greater, but less than 35 NEF a) All new development of
residential and other sensitive
land uses, including infill
development and
redevelopment, shall be
prohibited.

b) New land uses which may
cause a potential aviation
hazard shall be prohibited.

c) All development applications
approved prior to approval of
this Plan may proceed.

3 25 NEF and greater, but less than 28 NEF a) All development and
redevelopment proposals for
residential and other sensitive
land uses, including infill
development and
redevelopment, shall be
required to submit a detailed
noise study, employ noise
mitigation measures and
include appropriate warning
clauses in accordance with
Section B.3.6.3 – Noise,
Vibration and Other
Emissions, and Policy C.4.8.6.
b) New land sues which may
cause a potential aviation
hazard shall be prohibited.

CONCLUSION

This submission is intended to provide further information to the Ministry in consideration of Bill 23.

As mentioned, the City ultimately denied the employment conversion request put forth by the UWSLG, and has not updated noise related policies to be consistent with the PPS or to be in keeping with the latest technical information available to them. Both of these items, if completed, would continue the work already completed under the Province’s decision on UHOP OPA No.167. These items would directly result in the creation of a complete community including mixed-use which would establish a natural land use buffer between the employment uses planned to the south of the subject lands and the existing residential community located on the north of Twenty Road West. This community would importantly achieve the directions proposed to be established through Bill 23.

It is the hope of the UWSLG that the above comments will assist in the Province’s review of the proposed modifications to the Planning Act through Bill 23 and to incorporate policies that will help address the ‘missing middle’ and offer quick solutions to address the current housing supply crisis. Should there be any questions or a need for further information, feel free to reach out to the below.

Sincerely,

John Corbett
__________________________________
John B. Corbett, MCIP, RPP
President
Corbett Land Strategies Inc.
john@corbettlandstrategies.ca
416-806-5164

Appendices are attached within the full PDF submission made to PlanningConsultation@ontario.ca.