text:
BRIEF: New Research Out of Mac on Mid-Block Hamilton Pedestrian Collisions – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 26, 2022
New research by McMaster University researchers provides insights into how the City of Hamilton can decrease pedestrian violations of traffic regulations which result in collisions.
Department of Civil Engineering Ph.D. candidate Haniyeh Ghomi and Assistant Professor Dr. Mohamed Hussein used a Bayesian structural equation modelling framework to analyze Hamilton’s mid-block pedestrian collisions that occurred between 2010 and 2017 to “understand the impact of a variety of factors on the frequency and severity of pedestrian-vehicle collisions that involve pedestrian spatial violations at mid-blocks.”
They define spatial violations as people who cross outside of mid-block crosswalks within 30m of the crossing location or mid-block crossings “with no close-by marked crosswalks where pedestrians did not yield the right-of-way to vehicles.”
The data set provided to the researchers included 617 pedestrian-vehicle collisions reported at mid-block locations during the eight years.
Of the 617 collisions, 214 of these collisions (34.7 percent) “were mainly attributed to pedestrian violations.”
In these 214 collisions, the researchers write that 91.4 percent resulted in serious pedestrian injury or death. There were 11 fatalities and 192 injuries.
Decreasing and eliminating mid-block pedestrian collisions is important to achieving Vision Zero, the elimination of serious injuries and deaths involving vehicles.
One of the key findings of their analysis is that a large number of these collisions occur where both bike share stations and HSR bus stops are located mid-block.
“It is expected that many violations would occur at these locations, especially in situations such as a cyclist trying to park the bike and cross the street to catch an approaching bus,” they write. “Special attention is required when selecting the location of the bike-share stations, especially those that are close to bus stops.”
Mid-block pedestrian collisions are less severe near amenities such as schools, playgrounds, and access to trails. Pedestrian collisions near amenities are less likely to be fatal.
The researchers do not have speed data, they hypothesize these amenities are “usually located in reduced speed zones, and the vehicle operating speeds are typically low. Consequently, the severity of collisions is expected to be lower.” They note drivers usually pay more attention in areas with many pedestrians.
The City of Hamilton has also installed pedestrian crossing lights in many of these locations.
Mid-block pedestrian collisions are more likely to occur where there are refuge (centre) islands or a lower number of lanes, during dry weather conditions.
Research has shown pedestrians are less likely to cross mid-block on streets with more lanes or during inclement weather.
The analysis shows where countermeasures to prevent violations, which can include pedestrian crossing lights as an example, can be most effective.
In a map visualization, within the article behind an academic paywall, there are clusters of mid-block “violation” occurrences throughout Ward 3, along James Street North, many incidents along Bay Street North and Guise Street in areas of Bayfront Park to Pier 8, as well as many incidences along John Street South and James Street South between the Hamilton GO Centre and St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Since 2017, the City has installed new pedestrian lights in some of these locations.
The City of Hamilton does not provide collision data for analysis by journalists.
Past attempts to access the data using the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act have been unsuccessful because the City claims the data belongs to the Hamilton Police Service.
The Hamilton Police Service does not provide the data as it is controlled and retained by the City of Hamilton.
For those with academic paywall access, the original paper is here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03611981221097964


text:
BRIEF: Update on 77 James North, Hamilton City Centre, Planning Application – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 12, 2022
The owners of the Hamilton City Centre remain in final negotiations with the City of Hamilton to get their final site plan approval to redevelop the site into four residential towers to replace the Hamilton City Centre at 77 James Street North.
The City’s Planning Division states negotiations are progressing positively to reach final approval.
The City and IN8 Developments have been negotiating on the Site Plan since July 2020. IN8 originally sought an aggressive development with large connected podium.
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel strongly opposed the proposal because it did not meet Hamilton’s Tall Building Design Guidelines and was not pedestrian-friendly.
IN8 made substantial changes in response to comments from the Design Review Panel.
Since that time, the application has been undergoing tweaks.
City planning staff state the latest re-submission was filed on April 4, 2022. Staff comments have been returned to the development for further revisions.
The final version is expected to require some minor variances, which will need to be approved by Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment.

source: news-thepublicrecord

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Chedoke Avenue Residents Withdraw Opposition to Pathway Lights in Tot Lot Park – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 6, 2022
The only resident appellant to attend today’s Ontario Land Tribunal hearing on his appeal against lighting in the Chedoke Tot Park with his appeal today because he did not want his comments reported upon.
“I request that, you know, I noticed there’s a journalist here, I don’t want any of this stuff going on the record,” Chedoke Avenue resident Gabe Crowder stated in his opening remarks.
“I don’t want to find my name and the papers. I don’t want any of that. I don’t want any of my comments to be publicized.”
Ontario Land Tribunal Member Jennifer Campbell, presiding over today’s OLT Case Management Conference, explained to Crowder that hearings of the OLT are open to the public.
“It is a matter of public record that you’re an appellant,” Member Campbell stated. “Today’s CMC as well as the hearing itself are open to the public. So it is a matter of public record, as is any court proceeding.”
“Does that mean anything that I say in here can make its way to the newspapers, etc?” asked Crowder.
“It’s possible. Yes,” responded Member Campbell.
“Okay, so I’m not interested in commenting any further,” Crowder responded.
The two other appellants, Aaron Scime and Jacqueline Winters, did not attend today’s hearing.
The OLT heard they have likely abandoned their appeals.
In his original appeal statement, Aaron Scime wrote “Lighting of the path exposes our neighbourhood to fringe members of society in an area with a ton of children. Lighting the path allows these folks to enter into neighbouring homes. Also ‘lights’ in an environmental area are a concern too.”
Winters wrote in her statement, “these lights will also invite people and activities that will add noise (sound carries from that area all the way to my back yard) and cause other issues (parties, drugs etc.) for the neighbors.”
Crowder’s appeal statement was short, “the proposed use to light up the trail is not consistent with environmental policies.”
During today’s hearing, Crowder stated, “Myself and my neighbours are quite upset about this whole process and the lack of public consultation on this.”
Crowder told the Tribunal his concerns include: light pollution, lack of public process, environmental issues, and disruption because he believes the lights will attract nuisance activities.
Numerous times, Crowder expressed disappointment with Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson.
Wilson supports installing the lights.
After stating his concerns, Crowder again told the Tribunal he sought to withdraw.
“I don’t want to take this any further,” he stated. “I don’t want any of my comments to be made public.”
“I’m not a lone wolf here. I’m not the only one that’s not happy about this,” he further stated. “I see a few bikes every once in a while using their own lights. I think this is a waste of money … that’s how I feel.”
He expressed surprise at the requirements of a Tribunal appeal, and that it is a public process.
“I didn’t really know when we submitted our comments that this was going to create such a fuss, as far as you know, a proper hearing and all this … I wasn’t expecting this.”
OLT Member Jennifer Campbell states the Tribunal will be sending notices to both Scime and Winters to confirm if they wish to continue their appeals.
If neither wishes to do so, the OLT will be closing the appeal, which will allow the City to install the pathway lighting.
The pathway is a connector used by bicyclists and pedestrians travelling between the residential areas of Kirkendall and the Hamilton-Brantford rail trail bridge which goes over Highway 403 to the Ainslie Wood neighbourhood.
Crowder expressed resignation at the expected outcome.
“The City is going to do what the City wants to do. That’s really all I have to say about that.”
UPDATE: The OLT formally dismissed the case in a decision issued on July 26, 2022. The City of Hamilton can now proceed to install the lighting.


text:
City 2030 Commonwealth Games Lead Say Hamilton May Host Five Sports – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 18, 2022
City Hall’s lead for the 2030 Commonwealth Games bid says the City is likely to host 5 of the 17 sporting event venues in 2030, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.
In a memo published by City Hall last week, the City’s Director of Tourism and Culture Carrie Brooks-Joiner states that athletics, three-on-three basketball, road cycling, rugby, and weightlifting are presently proposed to be held in Hamilton.
Brooks-Joiner estimates the capital budget to upgrade two proposed City of Hamilton venues to be approximately $17 million. Brooks-Joiner’s memo does not state funding sources for this.
Hamilton City Council voted to pursue being the host city for the 2030 Games.
As host, the City of Hamilton could be ultimately responsible for the costs of the games in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Council has been assured there will be future opportunities to withdraw from the Games bid.
The private Hamilton100 bid group which is leading the Games bid recently expanded their plans to include venues across the Hamilton-Waterloo-Toronto region.
Brooks-Joiner states the City of Hamilton may also host the media broadcast centre, the “Commonwealth Games Federation Family Hotel,” and accommodations for technical officials.


text:
City Council and Vrancor Reach Deal on 354 King Street West Development – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 10, 2022
The City of Hamilton and Vrancor developments have reached a settlement which will end the ongoing Ontario Land Tribunal appeal regarding Vrancor’s plan to build a 25-storey building at 354 King Street West on the northwest corner of the intersection of King Street West and Queen Street North.
Council approved the settlement during their May 31 Planning Committee meeting. It was ratified by Council on June 8.
The Planning Committee vote to approve the settlement was 5-1. Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson voted against it.
The settlement details are not yet public. They will be presented to the Ontario Land Tribunal on June 20th. The appeal was scheduled to be heard starting on June 20th.


text:
City of Hamilton Senior Management Lose Their Battle in Stoney Creek  – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 12, 2022
The lights are kept off in the Council Chamber of the Old Stoney Creek City Hall.
The public rarely sees the beautiful mural of the 1813 Battle of Stoney Creek, which hangs above the seats where Stoney Creek city councillors once conducted their meetings.
The mural is an artistic representation of the battle between British and American armies, a key turning point in the war. A battle lionized as saving British North America, future Canada, from becoming a state of the United States.
The City of Stoney Creek government ceased to exist in 2000, forced into an amalgamation to create the City of Hamilton we know today. No Stoney Creek Council, no meetings in the Chamber.
Now, Hamilton’s senior staff plan to turn out the lights on the annual reenactment of the battle at Battlefield Park.
Senior staff also plan to rename Battlefield House to Creekside House Museum.
City Hall is in full retreat on both fronts.
A few weeks ago, on May 19, the City’s senior cultural and tourism managers informed the Friends of Battlefield Museum, the Stoney Creek Historical Society, and the Stoney Creek Chamber of Commerce, that the City was permanently ending the annual Battle of Stoney Creek reenactments.
The City confirmed the cancellation to journalist Richard Leitner last week.
The community mobilized, petitions were signed, calls were made to City councillors. Members of City Council expressed disagreement with the decision.
On Wednesday, Ward 5 Councillor Russ Powers moved a motion to override the staff cancellation, directing them to continue the annual reenactment.
City staff have lost this battle in Stoney Creek. The 2023 reenactment will occur, and the renaming of Battlefield is an idea already well in retreat.
The City’s Director of Culture and Tourism Carrie Brooks-Joiner says they never cancelled the event. Instead, there is “confusion” regarding the staff pronouncements.
“I can confirm that there was confusion between the decision for the 2022 event which was to cancel that event, and the 2023 event of which no decision had been made on its scope, other than the fact that it was going to happen,” she stated.
On Friday, Hamilton’s Municipal Heritage Committee took up the issue of renaming Battlefield House to Creekside House Museum.
The Heritage Committee voted Friday to add Battlefield House to their list of endangered heritage features until such time as the City of Hamilton formally declares it will not rename the site.
Ward 10 Councillor Maria Pearson, who sits on the Heritage Committee, says Battlefield House “is not endangered. The issue is the changing of the name of the building.”
Pearson says she will “get to the bottom of this,” adding staff have “no right to make these recommendations, and I want to get to the bottom of it.”
A City heritage staff member stated to the Heritage Committee, “It’s a National Historic Site, if I’m not mistaken, also has a provincial easement on it. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s an endangered state. But obviously, if there’s some re-envisioning process underway in terms of the museum itself, which is located on the property, and some change in terms of, you know, naming or other types of interpretation, then maybe the category in terms of undergoing some form of change might be more appropriate.”
City Hall will retreat on renaming Battlefield, but it seems the battle is not over.
Stoney Creek community groups are demanding accountability from staff.
How the City’s seniormost managers act towards the community is now an election issue.


text:
COLEMAN: Chris Murray’s Unexpected Voluntary Departure as Toronto’s City Manager – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 9, 2022
Former City of Hamilton City Manager, and past Director of the Red Hill Valley Parkway project, Chris Murray surprised pretty much everyone today when he announced he’s leaving his post as Toronto’s City Manager on August 19, 2022 – after four years as the CAO of Canada’s largest municipality.
His unexpected announcement raises the question why?
Even more so because Murray’s internal statement closes “As I am not built for retirement, my next adventure is yet to be decided.
He is not retiring for health reasons, he is not leaving for another job, he’s only been City Manager for four years, and he is only giving 79 days’ notice. It can be expected for an ongoing CAO to give more notice of their retirement to facilitate the hiring of their successor before their departure.
The Toronto Star reports: “Murray explained the timing of his decision by saying he viewed the job of the city’s chief bureaucrat as a “term-by-term commitment.” Council is set to begin a new four-year term in December after municipal elections on Oct. 24.”
and I have no speculative reasons to explain it.
I find his statement that a CAO is a “term-by-term commitment” to be interesting. What does he mean by this?
A few people have asked if I believe this is related to the Red Hill Valley Parkway Inquiry and potential revelations at the Inquiry.
I am not aware of any evidence that ties Murray directly to the cover-up.
None of the records produced by the City of Hamilton, made public by the Inquiry, connect Murray to the friction report scandal.
Murray testified in front of the Inquiry on May 6. During his testimony, he stated he was unaware of any concerns about the Parkway, unaware of concerns about Gary Moore, and that as City Manager, problems with the Red Hill Parkway were what a City Manager would deal with.
During his testimony, Murray was directly asked how his hand-written comment on a 2017 performance review of Gary Moore.
Then-new General Manager of Public Works Dan McKinnon wrote of Moore “Gary and I continue to have fundamental differences around leadership style, but having said that, I feel Gary and I agree on the fundamentals of many issues and I always appreciate our spirited conversations.”
As City Manager, Chris Murray reviewed McKinnon’s evaluation, writing to McKinnon, “I fully appreciate the use of the term ‘spirited.’ “When done the right way, it’s great. Otherwise, problematic.”
Asked by Inquiry Lead Counsel Robert Centa what he meant, Murray’s answer included, “Gary is very direct and, you know, not everyone is direct in their comments and their style, so he’s a challenger.” … “I know for some people, people who tend to ask a lot of questions and do so in a very straightforward, direct way, you know, it can create, you know, some problems, you know. So, just in terms of relationships, that’s what I mean by that.” [VIDEO LINK]
Asked, “In your experience with Mr. Moore, was he spirited the right way or in the problematic way?” Murray responded, “Well, the right way with me.”
This was the most direct portion of the testimony that day.
Justice Wilton-Siegel’s final report may include a discussion of the serious workplace culture problems which some documents appear to reveal. Ultimately, a City Manager is responsible for corporate culture, but.
I am not going to speculate, but I expect time will reveal whatever the reason may be.


text:
COLEMAN: City Council Can Ban Terry Whitehead from City Hall Until He Gets Treatment – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 20, 2022
Ward 14 Hamilton City Councillor Terry Whitehead’s harassment and bullying at City Hall continues to worsen.
Whitehead is now lashing in retaliation against those who’ve reported his wrongdoing back in 2020.
The 2020 incidents resulted in a November 2021 vote to slap him with 30 days pay suspension for his years of misbehaviour.
Hamilton’s Integrity Commissioners recommend another slap on the wrist penalty of 15 days pay suspension for each of the three new incidents.
It is Hamilton City Council that decides Whitehead’s fate on Wednesday.
Is Whitehead’s behaviour truly their “Me Too” moment, or will they continue to be an Old Boys Club?
The ICs lenient recommendations are just that, recommendations.
Section 223.4(5) of the Municipal Act gives Council (and only Council) the power to suspend Whitehead’s pay for up to 90 days for each incident, 270 days in total.
Council can take “other actions” in response to Whitehead’s misconduct, “so long as those other actions are remedial in nature and are not being used for a punitive purpose.” [See Magder v Ford, 2013 ONSC 263]
These “other actions” should not interfere with the Councillor’s ability to represent his constituents and discharge his duties.
[See Dhillon v. The Corporation of the City of Brampton, 2021 ONSC 4165 in which the Divisional Court quashed council imposed restrictions for overbreadth.]
There are 145 days remaining in this Council term following Wednesday’s meeting.  If Council imposes a 270-day suspension, it will continue into the next term if Whitehead is re-elected to Council, otherwise, the pay suspension ends on November 14 with the term.
Municipalities cannot impose retroactive pay suspensions.
Many options are available to Council, especially since the Municipal Act was amended in 2020 to allow electronic participation in meetings.
In one of the recent incidents, Whitehead attended City Hall and showed up unannounced to berate the City Clerk in the Clerk’s office.
His behaviour would violate the City’s Zero Tolerance for Violence Policy except for the fact that Councillors are exempt from the zero-tolerance policy.
Ward 15 Councillor Judi Partridge told the Integrity Commissioners that she is experiencing “anxiety” and “stress” about returning to City Hall because Whitehead’s office is across from hers.
In light of these facts, there are many options available to Council to take remedial action.
Council can impose conditions under Whitehead that he cannot physically return to City Hall until such time as he is receiving treatment agreed upon between himself and the City’s human resources department. The human resources department’s return to work program has experience with similar remedial actions involving City employees.
The Municipal Act‘s 2020 COVID amendments allow council meetings to occur electronically. The first election meeting amendment on March 19, 2020 was for the state of emergency, this was made permanent in a July 21, 2020 amendment to the Act.
This removes the barrier to prohibiting councillors from entering municipal buildings to attend council meetings.
In R. v. Gammie, 2017 ONSC 7376, the Superior Court dealt with the case of a councillor charged with assault against their town’s deputy mayor.
Town of South Bruce Peninsula Councillor Craig Gammie’s bail conditions prohibited him from attending Town Hall and council meetings.
Gammie’s bail conditions were imposed in 2017, before the Municipal Act changes of January 1, 2018, that allowed limited electronic participation of municipal councillors in meetings.
The 2018 amendment allowed councillors to attend meetings electronically, but they were prohibited from closed session portions of the meeting and did not count for quorum.
Thus, Gammie was at risk of having his seat declared vacant if he did not physically attend a December 19, 2017 council meeting.
In a December 8, 2017 ruling, Justice Lucy K. McSweeney granted Gammie permission to attend that meeting “only.” He was permitted to attend at the beginning for “only as long as is required for the Chair to confirm that his attendance is registered for the purpose of the minutes.”
Gammie volunteered to “seek the presence of a police officer for the duration of his attendance, at his own expense” and this was ordered by the Judge.
Justice McSweeney noted that if not for the fact Gammie’s seat be declared vacant, she “would have dismissed this application and left the parties to arrange remote attendance after January 1, 2018.”
In this same ruling, Justice McSweeney noted the Mayor of the Town testified that Gammie’s behaviour “pre-date the alleged assault, included, yelling, taunting, prolonged staring, name calling, spitting, and uttering insults.”
Justice McSweeney accepted this evidence, finding the Crown established that “Mr. Gammie’s attendance at the TSBP premises and in-person participation at council meetings continues to pose an unacceptable risk to those who work at TBSP premises and are required to attend council meetings.”
Further, the Justice noted that Gammie had not pursued counselling (para 14).
This indicates a possibility the Superior Court will allow prohibitions upon municipal councillors’ physical attendance at council meetings.
It is clear that if Hamilton City Council imposes a condition that Whitehead be restricted from City Hall until such time as he is undergoing counselling or other appropriate remedial treatment, the City has an arguable case this action will not interfere with his rights as an elected official.
This question will be answered during Wednesday’s Council meeting, or will they continue to deliver empty platitudes and more lies posing as excuses?


text:
Eastgate Square Submit First Concepts for Redevelopment, Including a 42-Storey Tall Building – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 6, 2022
The owners of Eastgate Square, Harrison Equity Partners, are looking to redevelop the south portion of the 45-acre East Hamilton / Stoney Creek shopping mall property into a high-density transit-oriented community with 5,162 residential units spread over 10 development blocks.
Harrison Equity Partners’ conceptual Formal Consultation package states the plan will “reposition the existing mall through strategic demolition and addition” with “context-aware intensification, relating to both the stable residential frontage of Kenora Avenue and the larger scale frontage of Centennial Parkway.”
The City received the conceptual plan on May 6 and it is being circulated among various City staff for comment. An internal staff Development Review Team meeting is not yet scheduled.
Harrison Equity Partners announced its plans to redevelop the site in a March 8 press release.
Developers frequently submit early conceptual Formal Consultation plans to the City prior to the significant costs of hiring experts and consultants to produce their official Planning Act applications. The purpose of Formal Consultation is to receive details comments from the City’s planning staff.
Conceptual plans are usually significantly revised following consultation. Following revisions, the developer will file their formal Planning Act applications. Public consultation and engagement will be based on these future plans.
This first concept proposal envisions the development occurring in three phases.
Phase 1 will fill in most of the existing parking lot along Kenora Avenue and the north portion of the parking lot abutting Centennial Parkway.
Phase 1 includes eight mid-rise buildings: four 20-storey buildings, two 18-storey buildings, a single 16-storey building, and a 15-storey building.
The buildings are grouped into four blocks of two buildings connected by six-storey podiums.
Building podiums will include parking, ground-level retail, and townhouse-style units.
Eight blocks of three-storey townhouses are proposed along Kenora Avenue.
The City’s Centennial Neighbourhoods Secondary Plan designates Kenora as a neighbourhood character area, restricting this portion of Eastgate Square to three storeys.
Phase 1 can be built as of right within the existing zoning and secondary plan for the site.
Eastgate Square’s current design is subject to a 2000 Ontario Municipal Board decision [2000 O.M.B.D. No. 873] which requires the mall’s parking entrances and exits to prevent vehicles from entering the residential neighbourhoods to the west and north.
The conceptual plans conform with that decision. Trucks servicing the Fortinos grocery store and shopping mall will not have access to Kenora Avenue.
Phase 2 of the proposal will require City Council approval. It proposes four development blocks.
Three of the four development blocks will require zoning bylaw amendments. These three blocks propose the construction of two 25-storey buildings and a 24-storey building.
The 24-storey building is planned to abut the existing HSR bus loop on Queenston Road.
This section of Eastgate Square and Queenston Road will serve as the eastern terminus of the B-Line LRT station, and be one of the most important bus terminals in Hamilton.
The existing bus loop is already over-capacity with multiple HSR bus routes forced to share stops. The Stoney Creek buses and Rymal bus route share stops. Buses are often required to wait for a platform to open prior to boarding and disembarking passengers.
Hamilton’s Chief Planner Steve Robichaud states the conceptual plan is being reviewed by both Metrolinx and the HSR. Comments from the transit agencies will be provided to the developer.
The final development block of Phase 2 will require both a zoning bylaw amendment and an official plan amendment to permit two tall buildings: a 37-storey and a 42-storey connected by a six-storey podium. This development block covers the existing north wing of the shopping complex which will be demolished.
Harrison Equity Partners is proposing to create a new public road between Centennial Parkway and Kenora Avenue. The roadway will run along the south side of the retained shopping mall.
Residents of the neighbouring single-family attached houses to the west of the mall property have opposed past minor variance applications filed by the Eastgate Square due to concerns regarding traffic impacts.
The City of Hamilton’s Development Charges background study states the average number of people per residential apartment unit in Hamilton is 1.76 people. The City’s report states there are an average of 3.39 people per single-detached home in Hamilton.
This conceptual plan will house over 9,000 people based on these averages.
The project will require review by the City’s Design Review Panel. The lands are subject to Provincial planning control under the Building Transit Faster Act.
Harrison Equity Partners’ have hired Bousfields Inc as their planning agent. BDP Quadrangle is the architectural design firm which created the conceptual submission.
Eastgate Square’s redevelopment proposal is part of a trend of commercial redevelopments in Hamilton.
The owners of Lime Ridge Mall will be in front of Hamilton’s Design Review Panel with their plans to redevelop a portion of the Hamilton Mountain to residential mixed-use with two 12-storey buildings. The owners of 200 Centennial Parkway North, a few blocks north of Eastgate Square, are planning to convert the large strip mall to mixed-use and have filed their formal Planning Act applications.
The plaza on the northwest corner of Upper Sherman and Mohawk Road, formerly anchored by a Wal-Mart, submitted a Formal Consultation package to build 1761 residential units spread over eight mid-rise buildings.


text:
First Development Concept for East Hamilton’s Delta Secondary School Site Submitted to City – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 2, 2022
New Horizon Development Group is proposing to build four mid-rise buildings and six blocks of townhouses on the rear portion of the Delta Secondary School site and to retrofit the heritage-designated former high school building for residential use.
The Delta Secondary building opened in 1924 and was Hamilton’s oldest secondary school when it closed in 2019.
The building’s heritage designation includes protection of its Modern Gothic style architecture that “ boasts handsome building elevations in Milton red rug brick and Tyndall limestone – the first such use of this stone building material in Hamilton and one of the first instances of its use in Ontario.”
New Horizon was the high bidder to purchase the site from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board earlier this year. Delta Joint Venture Inc. is the corporation created by New Horizon for this development.
The City of Hamilton’s planning staff are reviewing the developer’s first Formal Consultation proposal.
Hamilton’s formal consultation process enables developers to pitch early concepts to the City for comment prior to filing their official planning application.
The City’s internal Development Review Team will meet with the developer this coming Wednesday to discuss the plan.
708 residential units are envisioned in this early conceptual proposal.
583 units are proposed in two 14-storey residential buildings and two 11-story buildings behind the existing former school building. 51 three-storey townhouses are proposed along Graham Avenue, Maple Avenue, and Wexford Avenue.
The Delta Secondary buildings will contain 74 units.
858 vehicle parking spaces are proposed, of which 756 will be underground. 366 long-term bicycle parking spaces are pitched, as well as 30 short-term bicycling parking spots.
GSP Group Inc is the planning agent for the project. Graziani + Corazza Architects created the preliminary renderings and design for the project. Whitehouse Urban Design, a company affiliated with UrbanSolutions Planning and Land Development, prepared the design brief explaining how the proposal integrates and respects the Cultural Heritage Value of the existing school building.
This early proposal is now being circulated to the dozens of City divisions which review aspects of applications. Following circulation, the City will provide comments and recommended changes to the developer.
Developers traditionally modify their early proposals before making their official applications under the Planning Act.
The final proposal will require rezoning approval from either City Council or the Ontario Land Tribunal.
The property, 1284 Main Street East, is currently zoned “Institutional 2,” which does not permit the proposed residential uses.
Neighbouring properties along Main Street are zoned “Transit Oriented Corridor Zone 1.”
TOC1 permits building heights of up to 22 metres, which translates to six or seven stories.
This site has over four times the depth of any other site along Main Street east of the Delta [the intersection where King and Main Streets cross] and is multiples larger than any other property in this area.
Larger properties along the LRT corridor that are zoned TOC4 are permitted up to 40.0 metres.
Once submitted, the final proposal will be reviewed by Hamilton’s Design Review Panel before going to City Council’s Planning Committee for approval.
If approved, construction timelines will be subject to approval by Metrolinx because the site is along the B-Line LRT route.


text:
Hamilton Airport Says OPP Stated Protest Was Unsafe on May 26 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 30, 2022
The local executives of Hamilton’s International Airport operator Tradeport say it was the Ontario Provincial Police who requested the Airport sign a trespass notice on May 26 to remove peaceful protestors.
“We did receive a request from the Ontario Provincial Police that the airport permit them to remove protesters from the airport property,” Airport Executive Managing Director Cole Horncastle told Hamilton City Council’s Airport Sub-Committee.
Horncastle states the OPP gave the airport “the understanding that safety was at an issue and access to airport tenants was impeded” and this is why “the airport granted that request.”
He says the Airport is “committed to review our internal policies and practices to ensure that decisions impacting protests in the future are made with fulsome information and protect activity related to peaceful protests to the extent possible.”
The Airport lands are municipally owned by the City of Hamilton, with Tradeport operating the airport as a private operation.
The protestors were gathered to protest the policies of Ontario Premier Doug Ford during the provincial election campaign. Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party was holding a rally inside a Cargojet hangar that evening.
Citing the trespass order signed by the Airport, Hamilton Police arrested Caryma S’ad that evening. The initial Hamilton Police statement claimed S’ad was on private property and “refused to move and was arrested.”
The next day, after social media videos circulated, HPS issued “further clarification” that S’ad “was denied entry to a Progressive Conservative Campaign event” and was arrested for not leaving the airport property. S’ad was arrested a distance from the event in a parking lot.
S’ad had registered for the event.
Hamilton Police also ordered the Hamilton District Labour Council and the Hamilton 350 Committee to leave a roadway leading to the Cargojet facility or face arrest. HPS did this at the apparent direction of a Conservative Party staff member.
“We were harassed by the gentleman from the Ontario PC party who followed us around and threatened us on a regular basis as we were there,” stated Hamilton District Labour Council President Anthony Marco during his delegation to councillors. “several times during the entire event, that same Ontario PC enforcer came out and said, you really want to spend the night in jail, don’t you?”
“After an hour of peaceful legal protest an HPS officer came over and told us we had to stop protesting because we were on airport property,” Marco said. The protestors were on an abutting roadway at the time Marco stated.
Tradeport Director Horncastle stated later in the meeting the roadway in question is on airport property.
“East Cargo Road and its entirety is under our Tradeport International Corporation’s management. And even though there may be city signage that signage is there for a purpose in that we follow standards similar to the city.”
Horncastle confirmed that he authorized the trespass order based upon information provided by the OPP and other airport tenants. He stated, “We were also dealing with other tenants at the time along the road, who were raising concerns for their employees” to access sites.
Marco stated the Labour Council and Hamilton 350 were conducting a traditional information picket and the delays were minor.
Ward 8 Hamilton City Councillor John-Paul Danko stated his concern with police possibly taking political direction.
“I think it is an important issue because the Ontario PC party has had a history of using police forces to have people that don’t agree with them protesters arrested. We saw the reporter in Toronto a few years ago, I believe it was Mike Crawley who was arrested on the sidewalk. The airport is under lease from the City of Hamilton and I think there is a bigger question here,” Danko stated. [Crawley was threatened with arrest for reporting outside the PC Party convention in February 2020.]
City councillors received the delegation without action.


text:
Hamilton Design Review Panel Tentative Regarding Mount Albion Plaza Redevelopment – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 30, 2022
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel provided mixed comments on Medallion Corporation’s plan to redevelop Greenhill Plaza into two 12-storey (36.5 m) buildings with two three-storey blocks of townhouses and ground-level commercial spaces. The plan calls for 527 rental units, 1,000 square metres of commercial, with 481 parking spaces on the site.
The current plaza, at the intersection of Mount Albion Road, contains a variety of services but suffers from a growing number of vacancies with the recent closure of the Food Town grocery store the most notable vacancy.
The existing zoning only permits 200 people per hectare, the density of the proposed development is 362 people per hectare. The site is 1.45 hectares.
DRP members stated concerns regarding the shadowing of amenity spaces, too much density on the same, and an uninteresting built form.
“When you look at your shadow study it appears as if a large component of your amenity area, for the large part of the day is in shadow,” stated DRP Member Eldon Theodore.
DPR Member Joey Giaimo suggested reusing the brick of the existing plaza to create a more interesting design.
Henry Burstyn, Director/Senior Practice Lead Architecture at IBI Group Architects, stated a “concern might be that there’s not enough of it, because you really want to be consistent through these three phases to allow for a continuity of materials.”
“I would only add that when redesigning this site I would suggest more variety and build form to be added and much more interest for such long slab buildings,” stated DRP Member Jana Kelemen.
DRP Member Ted Watson was more positive on the development. “I appreciate the scale of the townhomes to the east. I think that’s quite successful in the US,” adding he “appreciates the commercial along Greenhill.”
DPR Chair David Clusiau said, “I think in general. I think it’s a pretty successful proposal.”
Clusiau stated, “Maybe you are overshooting the appropriate density on the sight, and maybe a little less ambitious on that level would make it easier to address some of the concerns that have been raised.”
“I think this is a totally appropriate development,” he continued. “With some refinement, it could be great, great success”


text:
Hamilton East – Stoney Creek Goes Conservative with Low Voter Turnout – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 2, 2022
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario won Hamilton East – Stoney Creek tonight as a result of low voter turnout.
The total number of votes cast for the Conservatives actually decreased from 2018.
The Conservatives won because the total number of votes cast for the NDP dropped nearly 66%, while the Liberal vote increased from their 2018 all-time low.
In 2018, there were 12,684 ballots cast for the Conservative candidate.
Today, with all 44 polls reporting, the Conservatives won with 12,166 votes for MPP-elect Neil Lumsden.
This is actually fewer votes than the Conservatives won in 2018 when 12,684 votes were cast for the Conservative candidate.
Back in 2017, the NDP’s Paul Miller won with 22,518 votes
The NDP booted Miller from their party in March and replaced him with first-time candidate Zaigham Butt.
This year, the NDP placed second with Butt winning only 9,614 votes, a decrease of nearly 13,000 votes.
Miller ran as an independent this election, securing 2,411 votes.
The NDP cannot solely blame Miller for their loss. That is unless they believe over 10,000 NDP voters stayed home in an odd counter-productive expression of solidarity with Miller.
Yes, Miller took a great number of their key campaign managers and volunteers. Yes, this put the NDP at an organizational disadvantage in getting out their vote.
This alone does not account for their loss tonight.
The fact is the NDP got less than half of their 2018 votes. This is an organizational failure, actually, worse than that, it is a catastrophe.
Even if Miller’s 2,411 votes are added to the NDP’s 9,614 votes, Neil Lumsden is still the winner.
[Yes, the NDP would’ve won with Paul Miller as their candidate because the Paul’s loyalists would’ve run a strong campaign for the NDP.]
The Liberals have much to be disappointed about tonight.
Provincially, the Ontario Liberal Party failed to secure official party status in the Legislative Assembly. At the time of this writing, they are leading or have won only eight seats.
The Liberals spent large during this election, and will face the challenge of paying off this debt.
They invested heavily in the candidacy of Jason Farr in the riding, including multiple visits by their leader Steven Del Duca. The Liberal vote is up from its 2018 historic low, but they remain a distant third place.
Farr secured 7,411 votes, an improvement from the Liberal’s 5,320 votes in 2018.
Low voter turnout is the reason the NDP lost tonight. Not their internal turmoil, not “vote splitting”.
11,000 NDP voters did not cast ballots this election.
Elections are won by those who secure the most votes, even when they have fewer votes than in the last election.


text:
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel Pleased With Early Lime Ridge Mall Redevelopment Concept – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 9, 2022
Lime Ridge Mall wants to change from being “vehicle-centric to a more “complete community-centric experience” with a phrased long-term redevelopment of the 25.1 hectare Hamilton Mountain property.
On Thursday, Mall owner Cadillac Fairview presented their conceptual design for Phase 1 of the redevelopment to Hamilton’s Design Review Panel.
“Our vision for phase one design is to initiate the renewal of people-oriented space, changing what once was a very detached vehicle-centric experience of a mall to a more connected and complete community-centric experience for multiple types of users,” CF’s design architect Jee-Young Kang said. Kang is a Principal at WZMH Architects.
In a first for Hamilton’s design review process, CF requested a design review meeting before filing their planning application.
Traditionally, the Panel reviews applications long after they are filed with the City of Hamilton, usually near the final stages of the planning process.
“Our goal today is to open up a dialogue, to receive feedback to help inform the design of our application,” stated CF Senior Director, Development, Micheal Peiser.
The proposal is to begin the redevelopment of the property on the north side by adding two 12-storey residential rental buildings while demolishing the vacant former Sears department store to build a new food and retail space which will include outdoor amenities with a pedestrian focus.
Design Review Panel members praised the early concepts. Members stated they will need to see a more detailed proposal to provide more substantive comments in the future.
“We’re engaging with you early … to really get some feedback to make sure, before we submit, we [are not] missing anything major from an urban design perspective,” David Falletta of Bousfields Inc told the Panel.
DPR member Jenn Sisson asked if CF is exploring more underground parking on-site.
Peiser said underground parking does not work for this phase, with the grading on the north end, most of the Phase 1 parking will be covered.
There is a full six-metre change in the ground grading in Phase 1. Additionally, there are two levels of parking under the residential buildings.
DRP member Ted Watson asked about design quality and sustainability for the new residential buildings.
“This is intended as a purpose-built rental building” as part of a “long-term whole project” which CF will own, said Queenie Wong, Partner, Zeidler Architects.  Wong says this long-term ownership position means “there is a lot of drivers to provide a sustainable building with good building envelope with a good mechanical and electrical system.”
CF’s Micheal Peiser said there are looking at the overall plan “as a long term vision in the community, and that we’re still holding it for another 40 years, as we have today.”
As the mall redevelops, the west side of the property will remain surface parking for the shopping mall.
Watson suggested other uses for this area of the mall.
CF’s Micheal Peiser said, “the mall is incredibly successful” and that retailers need those parking spaces.
“It’s generally a challenge, I find, [in] most mall developments … how we find the right solution to providing enough parking, to ensure the viability of our retailers.”
Near the end of the meeting, with time running out for the panel session, DPR members provided quick comments and suggestions for CF’s consultants and architects who are preparing the formal submission to the City.
Members suggest more detail to pedestrian spaces and connections, clarity and thought to what the new HSR terminal will look like and how it will be a comfortable connection into the redevelopment, and that CF strongly consider how to convert parking to being underground or covered.
The City of Hamilton is contributing $3.3-million to build a new HSR bus terminal using Metrolinx “quick wins” funding the City received in 2008.
CF will bring its formal submission back to a future Design Review Panel meeting.


text:
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel Says 26 West Ave S Proposal “Falls Flat” – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 9, 2022
The owners of 26 West Avenue South are hopeful of converting their building into smaller residential units with an addition to the front of the building to add even more units.
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel said today their proposal fails on all criteria.
DPR members expressed many reservations regarding the proposed changes to the existing building and the proposed addition.
The building, an early 20th-century walk-up low-rise with large balconies, is located within the Stinson Established Historic Neighbourhood in a pocket of well-designed brick residential low-rises and Victorian homes.
The building is presently vacant after the building was allowed to deteriorate into an unliveable condition and all the tenants were renovicted.
DRP Member Eldon Theodore was critical of plans to remove the balconies of the existing large residential units “in favour of the extension of the building” because it removes amenity space.
The proposal lacks amenity space.
The developer’s agent told the panel that the lobby constituted amenity space. The Panel did not agree.
“I think suggesting that the lobbies an amenity falls flat, that really is just a space to move through,” Theodore responded.
Other DRP members stated the planned addition needs to integrate into the design character of the surrounding buildings.
DPR Member Joey Giaimo suggested adding density at the rear of the building instead of the front addition, saying the owner should restore the building “keeping it very simple … would ensure that it retain its historic character and quality within the neighbourhood.”
DPR Member Eldon Theodore echoed Giaimo’s comments, saying the existing large balconies are “characteristic of the character of this neighbourhood.”
He added the building needs amenity space, “when I look at when I think about the quality of life of residents within a building, and I think that quality of life can’t just be living in that space.”
Design Review Panel Chair David Clusiau summarized the DRP’s position on the development by saying it fails to meet the three criteria the DRP was measuring it against.
“I think that the answers to the three questions that were asked on the summary are I would have to say are no, it isn’t conserving and respecting the existing built heritage features of the area. The materials are not consistent and compatible with the surrounding context. And know the proposal doesn’t contribute to the character and ambiance of the community through the appropriate design and streetscapes in many areas.”
The applicant’s presentation slides can be viewed on the City of Hamilton website here.


text:
Joey’s Notepad: John-Paul Danko and Maureen Wilson, Red Tories – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 1, 2022
Ward 8 Hamilton City Councillor John-Paul Danko self-identified as a Red Tory during today’s Council debate on the City’s Climate Change strategy.
The City of Hamilton’s strategy utilizes carbon budgeting, municipal green bonds, and maintains a climate change fiscal reserve.
“I really appreciate seeing a robust financial approach to this that is much more in line with a market approach,” Danko stated.
“There’s not many true fiscal conservatives Red Tories left but this is truly a Progressive Conservative approach to climate change, and I really appreciate that.”
Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson responded, “Yeah, Red Tories are like spotted owls, but we exist in the trees, you just have to look for us.”
Danko’s approach as a City Councillor is firmly in the centre-right area of the political spectrum. Liberals who lean more to the right of their party are known as Blue Liberals.
Traditionally, conservative parties in Canada embraced the centre-right area of the political spectrum. During the 1990s, Canada’s conservative movements shifted towards the right.
Today, many Red Tories would be card-carrying members of a conservative party are actually Blue Liberals and card-carrying members of the Liberal Party.
Danko is presently a card-carrying member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He is not a member of the provincial Ontario Liberal Party.
Cancelling his Liberal membership is “currently … on my to-do list” because it is “better for municipal councillors to not officially be affiliated with political parties.”
Danko says he joined the Liberal Party while considering seeking a nomination during last year’s federal election, adding he presently has no plans to seek either federal or provincial office.
Update: Danko is no longer a card-carrying Liberal.
During this term of Council, Wilson has positioned herself as a “progressive” while rarely attaching “conservative” to her progressivism.
Today’s short exchange is noteworthy leading into the new term of Council when we can expect a majority of the new councillors to come from centre to centre-right political philosophies.


text:
Keanin Loomis Promises Change is Coming October 24 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 13, 2022
In front of over 100 supporters, many wearing campaign t-shirts emblazoned with “Change Comes October 24”, Keanin Loomis officially launched his mayoral campaign Saturday with a focus on restoring trust in City Hall and addressing the affordability crisis.
Loomis asked his supporters to imagine the Hamilton of 2050, with a population of 800,000 people.
Looking at his daughter, Loomis stated, “she’ll be in her mid-30s and I think of her riding the LRT from her job to her home, visiting her parents on weekends, not living in our house.”
“Isn’t that the goal for all of us? We just want somewhere for our kids to be able to go.”
To the audience’s delight, he joked, “don’t settle in your basement at the age of 35.”
Loomis’ wife Trish earlier shared their story of being hit hard by the 2008 recession and moving into her parents’ basement here in Hamilton.
The theme of overcoming that time of adversity was prevalent during both of the Loomis speeches. Trish introduced Keanin by sharing his life story and passion for his adopted hometown of Hamilton.
“He deeply, deeply cares about this city,” she told the crowd. “He sees its potential.”
Keanin says he has the experience and knowledge to lead Hamilton and unite its communities.
“We have the opportunity to unite our city … Flamborough to Winona, Stoney Creek to Ancaster, from Dundas to Binbrook. And, of course, the Mountain and Lower City in between.”
“Over the last decade, I was privileged to be Hamilton’s voice of business, turning a 175-year-old institution into a modern, thriving and dynamic force for good in our city’s economy.”
“Over the course of my tenure, I fought for small businesses and steel makers alike. We made progress in creating a more inclusive economy.”
“I never gave up on my advocacy for the B-line LRT, convincing a government that cancelled that project, to reinstate that project. And think about that. That’s the government that we the city is going to have to deal with for the next four years.”
“Putting aside your partisan feelings, who else do you want in City Hall dealing with that government?”
“I have served on about 20 committees in City Hall, getting a really good understanding of the issues and inner workings of our municipal government.”
“I became a known figure in Queens Park. I walk into Queens Park and everybody would say, that’s the Hamilton LRT guy.”
“I have delivered testimony in Parliament Hill in Ottawa standing up for Canadian steel in the face of Donald Trump’s tariffs.”
“What I’ve experienced is that over the last 15 years as businesses and organizations and citizens like you all across our community, have contributed to the progress that the city has been experiencing. We have done so in spite of our leadership in City Hall.”
Loomis promises to “grow Hamilton wisely.”
“Hamilton is evolving and City Hall needs to evolve with it. We need to optimize the opportunity we have at this moment in our city’s history in a way that benefits everyone. Affordability is one of the biggest challenges we face today.”
“It impacts all of us, especially those most vulnerable in our community, which means that we have to work on transit, good jobs, food security, infrastructure, and especially housing.”
“We need to reduce red tape to meet our provincial growth targets, which is to be a city of 800,000 people by 2050.” [Loomis referenced his daughter at this point, as written above.]
“We must be YIMBYs, not NIMBYs.”
“Yes, in my backyard. That’s the only way that our children or parents or us are going to be able to live in Hamilton. The people who will be powering Hamilton through the 21st century need to be able to afford to live here.”
“Over the next four years, the Mayor of Hamilton is going to be the one to implement the B-Line LRT project.”
“I have studied that for years, because at the Chamber, we’re always most concerned about how construction is going to impact businesses along the routes, and how you mitigate the impacts to businesses. It’s also how you mitigate impacts to neighbours and to the communities that are being impacted.”
“We’re going to be building BLAST. There’s no reason why we cannot be planning for [the] A-Line at this point. We know how long these transit projects take.”
“We have to have A-Line ready to go when we are done B-Line and we need to talk about what L-line and S-Line and T-Line look like in the rest of the transit system as well.”
Loomis says completing the LRT and addressing housing shortages are critical to the future of Hamilton.
“The people who will be powering Hamilton through the 21st century need to be able to afford to live here. It is the only way we’re going to dig ourselves out of our $3.2 billion infrastructure deficit and the only way we’re going to keep our property taxes low.”
“We will support small businesses in emerging industry growth, thereby attracting new investment and talent. Hamilton must be a place for everyone to succeed and build a future.”
“It is 2022 friends, and we have to take our roles as stewards of our land, air and water seriously.”
“We have to work to lower our carbon footprint by enhancing transit and supporting the decarbonization of our heavy, heavy industry. We must protect our waterways, green belts and farmland. And finally, we need to clean up Cootes Paradise.”
“I would really like to live in a city that pledges to do everything possible to eliminate sewage spills, and stormwater discharges in our harbour and Lake Ontario. I think that’s pretty basic stuff, because you know, where we get our drinking water from.”
“I don’t know about you guys still angry about Sewergate … it wasn’t so much the incident itself. I mean, mistakes happen, I guess, five years. I don’t know how that goes undetected. But fair enough. But it’s the cover-up, the cover-up is always worse than the crime always, in what I can’t understand is how people run the council don’t understand why people are mad, why they’re so defensive about it.”
“The list of scandals and lies and secrets is long and well documented. Pride in 2019, Sewergate, Red Hill cover-up, and the steady drip of embarrassing Council and committee meetings we see almost every day. Layer upon layer upon layer convinced me and motivated me to do this run.”
“We know what we’ve seen week in and week out, and how we felt it’s been pretty icky at times, hasn’t it? When I see does not inspire me with confidence, nor instilled me with pride. And we know that toxic organizations do not prosper. It is clear that we need fresh faces and new ideas around that council table and it starts with the mayor’s office.”
“We must change the culture of complacency at City Hall at best, a culture of fear at worst, into a culture of excellence. Because if you can’t get the culture of an organization, right, you can’t get anything else right. And to do that, we need to bring transparency, respect and honesty back into City Hall. Only then can we rebuild trust and rebuild relationships.”
“Right now we’re the only game in town. I assume that we are going to have some competitors.”
“We know that there are going to be others as well in the race. At the very least we will be fighting the forces of the status quo. Inertia is such a powerful force.”
“When certain people’s jobs are on the line and there’s no other prospects for them, they are going to fight like hell to keep Hamilton where it is.”
Hinting at career politicians in his speech:
“There’s also some career politicians out there who will probably be looking for their next paycheck. And we may even be dragged down into partisan warfare, which I think is, is one of the things ruining our upper tiers of government. One of the reasons why I love municipal government. Let’s keep partisanship out of City Hall as well.”
On Bob Bratina during the media scrum after his speech:
“Putting Bob into City Hall is like sending an arsonist in to put out a fire.”
“Bob Bratina is the last person that should be moulding and working with the new Council. He’s had his day.”
On Andrea Horwath’s name being tossed around as a mayoral candidate:
“I don’t know how somebody could run both a provincial and plan for a municipal election at the same time. So I don’t think I can’t imagine that she would be doing this. I don’t want to be unfair to her. Right. To me, I feel like that’s just everybody else talking. So, you know, I’ve worked with Andrea in the past. I just don’t know how she would be able to do it.”
Loomis was asked about a new council and people “saying it’s going to be a lot more leftist Council that is going to tear this city apart”
Loomis responded: “I think people are using that as code for change. Leftists? Maybe we do need a more progressive Council and we need more progressive leadership, we need 21st-century leadership. And that does, certainly, you know, threaten people. And so you know, as I said, we’re going to be fighting the forces of the status quo. And I don’t know who they are going to coalesce around. But of course, they would say that, but you know, we do need to progress. We do need new and fresh ideas around that council table.”
Responding to a media question, Loomis stated:
“We’re gonna grow smartly. And that’s how we’re going to hold down taxes while also tackling our infrastructure deficit … accommodating those 100,000 new households within the current urban boundary, so that we can … dig out of our infrastructure deficit.”
“Taxes, to me, it’s about investing wisely in the city going forward. I think, you know, for some other people, maybe it means austerity, which means that we don’t spend anything on anything. And to me, that’s not the city that people want to live in.”
Asked, “What exactly is your plan to address pedestrian fatalities and concerns?”
Loomis stated:
“Well, we already have a plan, we have Vision Zero, right? We’re gonna implement it, we’re going to actually implement it, that’s the plan, and not just pay lip service to it. ”
“We need to be talking to drivers. First and foremost, I’m a driver … there’s ways to be able to reach people, that to get them to be much more considerate in, in driving through neighbourhoods, but then there’s the design aspect as well.”
“That’s [design] what the municipality controls more than anything. And so we see, you know, bike lanes need to be separated.”
“The next mayor is probably going to be implementing a two-way Main Streets proposal as well. And so how do we design that in the right way that meets everybody’s needs?”
“Complete streets is something that I have been talking about since I arrived here in Hamilton. I was absolutely horrified by Main Street and King Street. I’m still horrified and I can’t believe that nothing’s been done on those streets, but now we have a golden opportunity to do that.”
Asked “The tent cities, I didn’t hear anything from you about what can be done differently?”
Loomis stated “What we need to do right now … have a look at is the HATS [Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters] project, it’s all ready to go,” adding the challenge is “getting the city’s buy-in on that HATS initiative.”
HAT will help ten people become immediately housed, Loomis noted. “There’s probably so many other pilot projects that we can be implementing.”
“There’s so many people, we’re already providing services to the homeless people, other people that are willing to provide certain resources. And I’ve talked to the homebuilders about this, I said, if you guys want to earn the social licence necessary to be able to continue to build in Hamilton, you need to help me with homelessness.”
“I’m going to be asking them, and this is going to be the very first item on the agenda. Because if I’m lucky enough to be in this role, I’ll be taking office on November 15. And we know what happens, winter is on the way.”
“It’s always amazing to me how homelessness, just seems to all of a sudden, oh, my goodness, we have a homeless problem. Well, of course, it’s January and February, you can pretty much set your clock by it. So we need to be implementing hats in any other initiatives that we can I would love to do 10 pilot projects that help 100 people in the city and then see what works. And then we keep building on that.”
The follow-up question: “So you will not authorize any kind of clearance of homeless people from parks and that kind of thing?”
Loomis: “I think that is cruel. And I don’t think it solves the problem. I understand certain neighbours, you know, who have an encampment that often develops within their communities, that it’s tough for them, and I get that.”
“But where, that’s just basically putting the problem into another neighbourhood or another park. So I don’t see how that solves anything at all.”
“We’ve heard this from the service providers, that the best thing for them to do is be able to know where these people are so that they can help them get out of the holes that they are in.”
“So no, I don’t think that that’s the right way of dealing with things.”


text:
Lime Ridge Mall Plans to Add Two 12-Storey Residential Towers As Start of Redevelopment – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 4, 2022
Cadillac Fairview is looking to begin the redevelopment of Lime Ridge Mall into a mixed-use community beginning with two residential 12-storey buildings on the northern edge of the property and changing space formerly occupied by Sears into a restaurant district with an internal food court.
The new mid-rise buildings will contain 320 residential units. The planned tenure of the units is not part of the design review documentation. The residential units at CF’s redevelopment of its Richmond Centre mall are investor condos.
The new residential buildings will abut the Fortino’s plaza property, where there is presently parking for the mall.
A parking structure will be constructed between the mall and residential. The former Sears department store will be demolished and replaced with 100,000 square feet of new commercial space. The former Sears portion of the mall is approximately 150,000 square feet.
As part of the plan, Cadillac Fairview will begin creating pedestrianized connections in and out of the mall property to the surrounding community.
The City of Hamilton is contributing $3.3-million to build a new HSR bus terminal using Metrolinx “quick wins” funding the City received in 2008. The new terminal will be on the other side of the property, nearer to the Lincoln Alexander Parkway.
The new plan is similar to Fairview a 2018 proposal which envisioned a box restaurant concept for the former Sears. This new plan better meets the City of Hamilton’s planning priority of creating pedestrian-friendly environments.
The City of Hamilton and Cadillac Fairview negotiated changes to the zoning of Lime Ridge Mall, during the City’s city-wide commercial mixed-use zoning plan, to allow this type of development proposal to be approved by planning staff as a Site Plan Approval.
City staff are asking Hamilton’s Design Review Panel to review the proposal.
The Panel will meet Thursday afternoon at 2:45 pm to discuss the plan.
Members of the public can request to view the meeting by emailing the City’s Design Review Panel coordinator at drp@hamilton.ca by 12:00 noon on Wednesday.
Malls across North America are redeveloping into mixed-use properties.
In Hamilton, there is an active planning application to redevelop the large strip mall property at 200 Centennial Parkway North.
Eastgate Square on the Hamilton / Stoney Creek border is working on a redevelopment plan. It has not yet been filed with the City.


text:
Loblaws and City of Hamilton Reach Deal on Exceptions to LRT Zoning – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 24, 2022
The City of Hamilton and Choice Properties have settled Loblaws appeal of the City’s 2016 Transit-Orientated Corridors Zoning along the B-Line LRT corridor.
Choice, the property arm of Loblaws, filed three site-specific appeals for their properties at 50 Dundurn South (Fortinos plaza), 435-447 Main Street East (No Frills plaza), and 1124 Main Street East (Dollarama at The Delta).
Under the agreement, the three properties will be allowed special exemptions to ‘ensure the continued viability of the commercial plazas’ states an affidavit worn by the City’s Senior Project Manager – Urban Planning [as she was then] Shannon Mckie.
Loblaws is allowed to make “minor additions of up to 10% of the total GFA to existing development” including for purposes such as a kitchen space or retail space at their Dundurn property.
The No Frills plaza at 435-447 Main Street East is allowed a lower minimum height and lower minimum facade lengths but these exceptions are subject to Site Plan approval and Loblaws “would bear the risk if seeking to implement any changes through site plan not captured by this special exception.”
No exceptions have been created for 1124 Main Street East.
Hamilton’s Chief Planner Steve Robichaud spoke with TPR in early May when the settlement was reached.
He stated the exceptions will allow Loblaws to continue operating the properties as commercial plazas until such time as market conditions are better for the redevelopment of the sites into higher density mixed-use sites.
The site-specific appeals were the only outstanding appeals of the 2016 TOC zoning bylaw. It was previously brought into force and effect by the then-Ontario Municipal Board on May 1, 2017.


text:
McMaster/Knightstone Going Back to OLT Over 1190 Main Street West Site Plan – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 25, 2022
Lawyers for McMaster University and Knightstone Capital Management are asking the Ontario Land Tribunal to hold a hearing on their site plan submission for 1190 Main Street West.
McMaster/Knightstone reached a settlement agreement with the City of Hamilton in late 2021 to permit the building of the 1,379-bed residence. The building will be 15 storeys closest to the rest of campus on its west site, and 10 storeys or below as it transitions to the east side of the property bound by Dalewood Avenue.
In a notice of hearing issued Wednesday, the Tribunal states the hearing is requested by David Bronskill of Goodmans LLP who is representing McMaster and Knightstone.
“A site plan appeal for this matter remains before the Tribunal.  Good progress has been made towards resolution of the site plan matters,” wrote Bronskill in the request for a hearing date. “After speaking with City legal about different options for implementation of approval of the site plan application, and considering different timing options and other matters, our client believes that asking the Tribunal to approve the plans/drawings and conditions of approval would be the preferred route forward.”
The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
McMaster University is presently short thousands of residence beds which is impacting the institution’s recruitment efforts for both undergraduate and graduate students.
An OLT approval of the Site Plan application will enable McMaster to get construction permits.


text:
OLT Sets April 23, 2023 Hearing Start for Spallacci John/Charlton Towers Appeal – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 24, 2022
The Ontario Land Tribunal will conduct a two week hearing in late April 2023 to decide upon a Spallacci development proposal for three tall buildings at 299-307 John Street South & 97 St. Joseph Drive.
Spallacci wishes to build the towers to be taller than the escarpment at 22, 24 and 25 storeys.
These will be the first tall buildings built near the escarpment since the creation of the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP) in 1985.
The surrounding tall buildings were built before the implementation of the NEP. The NEP was created to protect the environment of the escarpment, including ensuring views of the escarpment.
Officially, the developer is appealing for “non-decision” by the City of Hamilton. The primary issues are with the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC).
The NEC says the proposal does not comply with the NEP.
“As proposed, the overall height of the three towers represents a significant increase over the maximum allowable building heights for the subject property and exceed the relative height of the Escarpment brow,” reads an NEC report.
“The proposal presents serious concerns associated with compatibility of the development and impact on the existing visual access for the public to the scenery of the Escarpment’s wooded slopes and brow.”
The NEC says the developer needs to lower the heights of the building, and suggests the buildings should only be allowed to the height of the present zoning on the property which varies between 12 to 18 storeys.
The NEC is concerned the approval of this proposal will undermine the Niagara Escarpment Plan and lead to similar tall buildings near the escarpment throughout Ontario.
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel recommended the developer only build two towers on the site. With the developer appealing for non-decision to the OLT, there was no final DPR review.
St. Joseph’s Hospital is an added party to the appeal. The hospital submitted that its interests are impacted by the proposal. The hospital states the proximity of a large number of residential units could cause neighbour complaints regarding noise from the hospital’s mechanical systems, that changes to wind conditions could impact the hospital’s air intakes and exhaust vents, and that the hospital has future expansion plans to increase its density along John Street.
All four parties, the developer, City, NEC, and hospital are to exchange issues lists during the summer.
The OLT will conduct a Case Management Conference on September 19 to consider the procedural order and issues list for the expected ten day hearing scheduled to begin on April 24, 2023.


text:
Ontario Land Tribunal Appeal at 130 Wellington South Delayed as Neighbours Challenge Applicants Experts’ Status – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 12, 2022
The planned five-day hearing for a multiplex at 130 Wellington Street South was cancelled at the Ontario Land Tribunal on May 30th due to a dispute regarding the qualifying of Michael Barton to provide expert testimony at the Ontario Land Tribunal on behalf of 130 Wellington Corp.
Barton is a Registered Professional Planner, the principle of MB1 Consulting, and has been qualified multiple times by the Ontario Land Tribunal as an expert witness on land use planning.
It is extremely rare for the Tribunal not to qualify Registered Professional Planners as expert witnesses.
Barton was retained by the applicant as the planner for their planning application submitted to the City of Hamilton. Barton also served as the applicant’s representative during the first Case Management Conference in front of the OLT.
A group of nearby residents were granted Party status. Jesse Razaqpur, one of the residents, is representing the group. Razaqpur is a lawyer and is self-representing in front of the Tribunal.
Briefly, the property owner applied to the City to legalize a six-unit multiplex conversion of the three-storey Victorian home on the site. The City’s planning staff recommended Council approve the application.
Nearby residents were opposed. Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr agreed with their concerns that there are too many rentals in Corktown, and Council voted down the application.
Farr said he expects the Ontario Land Tribunal to overturn Council’s denial, and approve the application as it meets the requirements of both City of Hamilton policies and provincial planning policies.
A May 9th email to the OLT from the City of Hamilton’s outside lawyer states Razaquar is filing a motion to the Tribunal challenging Barton’s ability to meet the OLT’s requirement for expert witnesses to “provide opinion evidence that is fair, objective and non-partisan.”
On May 18, the Tribunal granted an adjournment to a later date to hear this motion.
“The matter of Mr. Barton’s prior involvement as a planning representative at the early stage of the application, which is not without precedent, and also as advocate, can be addressed with the presiding Panel member,” wrote the Tribunal case coordinator in the May 18 adjournment notice.
The rescheduled hearing date is not yet set.


text:
Ontario Land Tribunal Approves Council – Vrancor Deal, 25 Storeys Approved at 354 King West – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 27, 2022
The City of Hamilton and Vrancor developments agreed to a settlement allowing a 25-storey tall building on the northwest corner of the intersection of King Street West and Queen Street. The property is within the Strathcona neighbourhood, but across the street from the Downtown Secondary Plan zone and at a planning Light Rail Transit system.
Council approved the settlement in closed session on May 25, 2022. Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson was the only councillor to vote against the settlement.
The deal allows Vrancor, the property company of Darko Vranich, to construct a 25-storey tower on the northwest corner of Queen Street North and King Street West. The revised building will comply with the City’s tall building guidelines.
During the Ontario Land Tribunal settlement approval hearing last Monday, the City’s planner on the file stated the changes represent good planning because of the location of the tall building being on a primary corridor beside the planned Queen Street B-Line LRT stop.
The City’s position is that the tower would be approved by the OLT and the settlement now represents good planning.
The Strathcona Secondary Plan, passed in late 2013, zoned the land for mixed-used medium density.
Since that time, the Provincial Growth Plan has changed to require significant intensification in Major Transit Station Areas, which are the areas within 500 to 800 metres of LRT stations.
The primary change is the creation of a six-storey podium below the tower, with the tower now including some step back in conformity with the City’s tall building guidelines.
The agreement states the podium shall be cladded with materials complementary to the historic Scottish Rite across King Street, have recessed balconies to decrease overlook of neighbouring houses, and no more than 60% glazing for energy efficiency.
Local neighbours in the Strathcona community, who organized against the proposal as the Strathcona Shadow Dwellers, state the settlement failed to protect their neighbourhood and the concessions from the developer are “all table stakes and hardly tough concessions on the part of Vrancor.”
Spokesperson Wayne MacPhail states the concessions are all items that should’ve been expected of the developer in an initial submission.
MacPhail distributed a document comparing the City’s expert witness statements of May 6, when the City was opposing the development, to their statements on May 27, after the City agreed to the settlement.
On May 6, the City’s expert stated “It is my opinion that in the above noted considerations, scale and massing should be given a greater weight than the other elements, as a reduction in scale and height would have a much more substantial impact on reducing the impacts on adjacent uses than providing landscaping, trees and fencing (particularly on the Subject Proposal). While useful, these considerations should not be considered as an alternative to a meaningful reduction in the building scale and massing.”
On May 27, the opinion changed to “It is our opinion that the revised design:
Provides reasonable regard for the intent of the UHOP and Strathcona Secondary Plan
policies, as well as the relevant urban design guidelines, subject to a future site plan application.”
Vrancor has applied for a zoning bylaw amendment and official plan amendment for their property one block north of this site.
The proposal for 200 Market Street is “To rezone to permit a mixed-use development comprised of two 15-storey towers and two 27-storey towers above a 3 to 7-storey base building (82m max height). Includes a total of 762 dwelling units, 1,003 m2 of commercial space and 369 parking spaces.”
The Market Street plan was submitted to the City on January 19, 2022.


text:
Ontario Land Tribunal To Rule on Secondary Unit Cases in July – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 26, 2022
The Ontario Land Tribunal will conduct a series of hearings regarding secondary dwelling units denied by Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment.
Hamilton’s CoA is opposed in principle to secondary dwelling units.
In opposing SDU, some CoA members referred to renters as a problem population and that SDUs will turn Hamilton neighbourhoods “into ghettos.”
Ontario’s Planning Act states SDUs are permitted as-of-right and municipalities must allow them.
Despite this, the CoA is voting down secondary dwelling units and lot severances in most cases where there are letters of opposition written by neighbours or the ward councillor where the application is.
All the while acknowledging the Ontario Land Tribunal will uphold the Planning Act and approve the SDUs upon appeal.
The first SDU hearing at the OLT will be for 275 Huxley Avenue South, an SDU application denied by the CoA in February.
The hearing will be held on July 7 beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Large parts of the old City of Hamilton are governed by By-law 6593, which was passed on July 25, 1950. This outdated zoning by-law means everything from adding a shed to repairing a patio can trigger variance.
The driveways of most houses in the Delta neighbourhood do not conform. Double parking, with smaller vehicles squeezing between houses.
This is the situation at 275 Huxley South.
Nearby neighbours spoke to the CoA, saying they believe tenants may park on the street rather than double-park.
“Who the hell wants to wake up their tenant at whatever time of the day or night to go move their car because they want to get out,” said one neighbour “What’s going to happen is they’ll use on street parking.”
“There are already houses on the street where technically the driveway can fit more cars, but people don’t use it,” this person said.
CoA Member Thomas Lofchik said he cannot support SDUs because “at some point, you must reach a saturation point on the street for parking.”
Lofchik opposes SDU.
“Well, it’s all very nice with, you know, what the province wants and what the bylaw says, but practically it’s not a good idea,” he stated.
CoA Chair Dale Smith said “that’s why we’re here as a committee” to block SDUs.
The City’s planning staff recommended approval, saying the parking spot met the intent of the bylaw.
“That’s not up to planning to say that,” stated CoA Member Laverne Gaddye, “That’s up to us to make a judgement on that.”
CoA Member Bob Charters, a former City of Hamilton Alderman, cautioned his fellow CoA members, reminding them the Province requires the City to approve SDUs.
“I understand why people are upset about all of a sudden there being another living unit on a property,” Charters stated. “I guess the difficulty is, yes, it is minor.”
“I’m not sure it would withstand any kind of a [OLT] hearing, or any kind of a test moving forward.”
Ward 6 Councillor Tom Jackson firmly opposes SDUs and succeeded in mobilizing his community against an SDU application at 38 Rendell Boulevard.
The CoA denied the application and the owner filed an appeal to the OLT. The OLT is moving quickly on the appeal, with a merits hearing scheduled for July 21, 2022, beginning at 10:00 am.
Clr Jackson successfully instructed the CoA to deny another SDU in Ward 6. This one at 51 Raleigh Street.
The appeal hearing for this address is scheduled for July 22, 2022, beginning at 10:00 am.
The OLT has not yet set a hearing date for this property in Ward 3’s Stinson neighbourhood.


text:
Ontario’s Tax Assessment Tribunal Scorns City of Hamilton for Non-Compliance in City’s Largest Assessment Appeal – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 9, 2022
Ontario’s Assessment Review Board dismissed a key City of Hamilton motion in the ongoing property tax appeal filed by Cadillac Fairview regarding the assessed value of Lime Ridge Mall.
Lime Ridge Mall is Hamilton’s largest single property tax account.
In a ruling released this week, Adjudicator Carly Stringer of the ARB dismissed the City’s motion seeking documents from Cadillac Fairview because the City of Hamilton failed to meet numerous deadlines for filing, and failed to provide the ARB with explanations for its non-compliance with both deadlines and Tribunal rules.
In summary, on June 30, 2021, the City sought disclosure of financial information from Cadillac Fairview regarding the profitability of Lime Ridge Mall.
On July 12, 2021, CF agreed to provide all the requested information (including “confidential financial information, such as rent rolls and leases”) to the City of Hamilton with the standard condition that the City agree to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to ensure the confidentiality of the disclosed information.
Back and forth occurred between CF and the City during August to reach an agreement regarding the terms of the NDAs.
“On September 9, 2021, the City asked Cadillac Fairview if it would agree to personal undertakings rather than a confidentiality agreement. Cadillac Fairview responded on September 15, 2021, that it would agree if the City’s lawyer and City staff with access to the information sign the NDA,” states the ARB ruling.
“The City did not provide copies of personal undertakings, nor did it otherwise respond to Cadillac Fairview for some time.”
On December 1, 2021, the City and CF agreed to a revised timeline for the City to provide the NDAs, CF to provide disclosure, and further legal deadlines for response and replies regarding the case.
The City failed to meet the timelines, by over a month in some instances.
On March 11, 2022, the City brought a motion for disclosure before the ARB.
This motion was dismissed in this week’s ruling.
Even in this motion, the City failed to file its evidence and failed to meet deadlines.
“The City has not provided a reply to Cadillac Fairview’s request to dismiss this motion due to non-compliance with the SOE. The City has not made reference to exceptional circumstances in its affidavit evidence on this motion, nor has the City made submissions on exceptional circumstances,” writes Adjudicator Stringer.
“The SOE [Schedule of Events] required the City to bring a request for any additional disclosure from MPAC by February 19, 2021, and complete any motions for disclosure from MPAC by March 19, 2021. The City did not comply with these deadlines, nor has it provided the Board with an explanation for its non-compliance. The City has not provided the Board with evidence of exceptional circumstances warranting an extension to this deadline in the SOE. Accordingly, the Board will not alter the deadline in the SOE for completing a motion for disclosure from MPAC.”
Adjudicator Stringer wrote bluntly of the City’s repeated failure to meet requirements in the case.
“The Board denies the City’s motion for disclosure.”
The main appeal remains ongoing, and the City will have to try to argue against CF’s appeal, potentially without critical information.
The cost to the City’s tax revenue is not yet known, it will only become known once the final tax assessment appeal is heard and ruled upon.


text:
PHOTO: City Staff Out in The Field making Main Street Safety Plan – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 10, 2022
The City of Hamilton’s seniormost traffic, transportation, and transit staff are walking along the entirety of Main Street as they prepare the largest change to Hamilton’s Main Street since it was made a one-way urban highway in 1956.
On May 11, following multiple pedestrian deaths on both King Street and Main Street during the months of March and April, City Council voted 12-2 to direct staff to prepare a report to implement “immediate” safety measures and changes to both Main Street and King Street.
This afternoon, the City’s Director of Transportation Planning Brian Hollingworth, Acting Director of Transportation Operations and Maintenance Mike Field, and the Chief Road Official Edward Soldo led a group of City staff who were conducting in-person observations along Main Street during rush hour.
The group included the HSR’s manager of planning and strategy.
The City has not yet announced when the plan for immediate safety measures will return to City Council for final approval.


text:
Research Shows Integrity Commissioner Reports Don’t Change Election Outcomes – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 20, 2022
There is plenty of discussions online about the election prospects of Ward 14 Councillor Terry Whitehead following two Integrity Commissioners’ reports regarding his ongoing repeated harassment and bullying of staff at City Hall.
Whitehead’s misbehaviour is on the more extreme end of misconduct, but there are comparable politicians in other municipalities who’ve been re-elected after scathing Integrity Commissioner reports.
In 2018, David W. Arbuckle published a Masters Thesis which analyzed the electoral outcomes of municipal politicians who were subject to integrity discipline.
His research found that “code of conduct violations appear to have little bearing on election results.”
Arbuckle reviewed 113 IC reports across Ontario during the 2014-2018 council term. He then compared the electoral results for council members who had findings of misconduct during the term.
There were 49 elected officials, subject to findings of misconduct, seeking re-election to the same council position.
Of note among them was Mayor Louis Antonakos of the Town of Carleton Place who “was the subject of three integrity commissioner reports resulting from code of conduct violations such as bullying, disclosing confidential materials from closed meetings and staff harassment/abuse.”
Mayor Antonakos was soundly defeated in 2018, after a scandal-plagued term which included five proven violations of their Code of Conduct.
Arbuckle’s research finds candidates with multiple negative IC findings who increased their vote percentage in 2018 compared to 2017.
In fact, using correlation analysis, Arbuckle finds “the data shows that while there is almost no correlation between code violation and re-election, there is a slightly better chance of getting re-elected if a candidate does violate their council code of conduct.”
This brings us to Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley who was found guilty of two serious violations of Sarnia’s code during the 2014 to 2018 term.
Bradley, who is Ontario’s second-longest-serving mayor and was first elected in 1988, was found to be bullying and harassing the City Clerk and other municipal staff in an extensive 2016 report issued by Integrity Commissioner Robert Swayze.
This report included details of problematic behaviour by Bradley dating back to the 1990s.
Nothing changed in Sarnia. Bradley was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2018 and the municipal government continues to experience a high turnover of staff with a reputation on par with Hamilton as a terrible place to work.
Bradley is succeeding at portraying himself as a champion of the people against the corporation administration of City Hall.
This is a narrative in which Whitehead is trying to portray of himself.
Terry Whitehead has declared he will seek re-election this October.
The reports, and his ongoing antics during Council meetings, are being presented during the election period.
The scandals will be fresh in voters’ minds, this timing could be a significant factor.
Additionally, Hamilton has a robust media landscape. Whitehead’s scandals will be repeatedly discussed.
Returning to Arbuckle’s research, I will note that councillors defeated after integrity scandals tended to be defeated alongside their colleagues. The integrity scandals were not the sole factor in defeats, there were wider trends were at play.
After four years of near-constant scandals and embarrassment, will Hamiltonians vote for change?
It will ultimately be for voters to decide Whitehead’s fate.


text:
Stelco Lands Sell for $630,000 an Acre, Only Weeks After An Ontario Tribunal Valued It at $52,431 Per Acre – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 5, 2022
CORRECTED VERSION: The first version of this story contained a substantial calculation error regarding the per-acre value of the sale.
Less than two weeks after Ontario’s Assessment Review Board declared the Stelco lands to be worth only $41,160 per acre, Stelco announced on Tuesday it was selling its 806.2 acres of land for $518-million, which is approximately $630,000 per acre.
The difference between the assessed value of the land and its sale price represents a significant loss of tax revenue for the City of Hamilton.
Tuesday’s announcement of the land sale to Slate Asset Management was not a surprise, the sale has been in progress for well over a year, and the sale of the Stelco lands was discussed as part of the bankruptcy process a few years ago.
The sale at $643,000 per acre is significantly above the value of previous sales of industrial lands in Hamilton.
In October 2011, the sale of 41.61 acres of steel-related industrial lands at 139 Windermere Drive fetched $225,907 per acre.
A December 2006 sale of 102.63 acres at 1625 Burlington Street East fetched $170,515 per acre.
The Stelco lands were valued at $91,393 per acre during the June 2018 bankruptcy proceedings of the old Stelco.
The sale comes only weeks after Stelco succeeded in its tax appeal against the City of Hamilton to lower the assessed value of its lands.
Stelco argued to the Assessment Review Board the 411.6 acres of “unmarketable” land not being used by their operations should be valued at $100 per acre.
The City of Hamilton argued the lands should be valued at $125,000 per acre.
Ontario’s Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) agreed with Stelco that the lands should be assessed at $100 per acre, with MPAC stating the lands have “no value in the marketplace.”
The Ontario Assessment Review Board Tribunal ruled in favour of the $100 per acre assessment, giving the 411.6 acres a total assessed value of $41,160 in the Industrial Property Class for municipal taxation.
The remaining 394.6 acres are classified as “288.8 acres used by Stelco’s production facilities, 70 acres of roads and rail corridor, and 35.8 acres of “marketable” unused lands.
The Assessment Board ruled the value of the lands to be $42,270,000. This represents less than a tenth of the sale value announced last week.
Stelco will lease back 75 acres of the land, leaving approximately 725 acres for new redevelopment.
These are the most valuable vacant industrial lands on the Great Lakes. Hamilton’s harbour is a deep-water port, both CP and CN have rail servicing the lands, and it is connected to the QEW via Burlington Street.
Slate can leverage the capital funding needed to remediate the lands to make them “shovel-ready” for manufacturing and distribution operations. [Read Slate’s public statement here.]
For the City of Hamilton, this means new tax revenue, which will assist the City to address our $3-billion dollar infrastructure deficit. To say nothing of new jobs.
City staff are scheduled to update City Council on the taxation situation of the property later this summer.
You can further read coverage of the sale from TheSpec here.