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Councillor Craig's Current - August 2024

Councillor Craig's Current - August 2024

Craig Cassar
August 29, 2024

Hello everyone, and welcome to the end of August. As we collectively prepare to change gears for September, I hope you can take a few minutes to read about what’s been happening in Ward 12 and across the City.

I recently returned from the Association of the Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa where I joined the Mayor, the City Manager, several of my Councillor colleagues, and senior Staff. We had short delegations with a dozen Provincial Ministers or their representatives to advocate for funding across many different areas including Housing and Homelessness, which is the topic of one of this month’s articles. You will also find three articles on the topic of road safety: Roundabout safety improvements; a new public tool to report Truck Route violations; and some insight into the process of implementing traffic calming.

I’ll also direct your attention to an article with an update on appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal for lands at 509 Southcote Rd and 210 Calvin St. In a similar vein, you can also read about the impacts of new provincial legislation (Bill 185) threatening Hamilton’s firm urban boundary.

Those are just the highlights, so please have a read through the entire newsletter and enjoy the upcoming long weekend!

Roundabout Safety

Safety for vulnerable road users is one of my top priorities. Early in this term, safety at Ancaster roundabouts was identified by many of you as a serious concern. As dense evergreen bushes planted in the center of some roundabouts have grown, they have severely reduced sight lines and have made the area dangerous for anyone not in a vehicle. Recently, a traffic safety study was conducted and recommended the removal of dense plants and/or bushes to improve sight lines for vehicles entering roundabouts.

I am happy to report that as of August 1, this work has been completed at six roundabouts in the Meadowlands. I’ve personally inspected them and can confirm that the visibility at these intersections is much better and will greatly improve the safety of everyone; motorists will be able to see pedestrians long before they enter the roundabout. Other roundabouts in the area will be reviewed and, if deemed required, similar work will be completed.

The plan for replacing vegetation is not finalized, and those details will be determined in the future. But rest assured, anything that is planted in these locations will be required to maintain sight lines that create a safe environment for all.

See you at the market!

Truck Routes

The City of Hamilton has just launched a Truck Violation Reporting Tool that empowers Hamilton residents to play an active role in ensuring safer and more compliant use of Hamilton's transportation network.

The tool allows residents to report truck route violations they observe in their community. By submitting location-specific feedback, residents can help the City and Hamilton Police Service monitor and allocate resources to address non-compliant trucks on our streets. Note that the data you submit will be used to identify hot spots informing future enforcement, so please report each violation you observe.

You can access the approved truck route map and report trucks violating the City’s By-law at this link. You can also report truck route violations through the Hamilton Police Service non-emergency line at 905-546-4925.

Traffic calming update

Nearly every day, the Ward 12 office hears from residents concerned about the safety of vulnerable road users throughout our community. There is a strong desire for the city to make our streets safer by calming vehicular traffic. I share this concern; it was part of my campaign platform and I have worked with City of Hamilton Staff to execute many traffic calming solutions throughout the ward. You can review areas of concern and progress made on our community safety map.

There is much work to do, and that reality is regularly reinforced through the requests we receive for action in specific neighbourhoods across all areas of the ward. For many, it might feel like the City is not doing enough and is too slow to address these legitimate and serious concerns from the community. For those in that category, I ask you to consider the following significant obstacles:

1) There are many years - and possibly decades - of pent-up demand for traffic calming, which will take many years to address.

2) Our streets and roads have been designed to move cars quickly, mostly with very little regard for anyone outside of a vehicle. This is a huge obstacle to overcome and will be very difficult and expensive to retrofit. Over time, as roads are reconstructed, they will be subject to Hamilton's Complete Streets requirements which is a significant step forward.

3) Staff are dealing with similar requests from fourteen other wards across the City and have a finite capacity for affecting change. Unfortunately, in the short- and mid-term, Staff do not have the capacity to implement what the community wants accomplished 'now'.

A view into the process might be helpful. Each time we receive a request for traffic calming, we log it and pass it on to Staff to review and prioritize into their existing - and substantial - workload. The Staff in our traffic safety department are passionate about their work, but they are also thorough. Prior to making decisions on traffic calming measures, they will study the area to collect data and assess the need for what changes might be required and are appropriate for the circumstances. At this point, you might be thinking, "I live here and I know what I see every day, so they just need to fix the problem!"

I am absolutely an advocate for taking quick, temporary action while permanent solutions are considered; however, Staff are responsible for operations and determine how to implement change. As I hope you can appreciate, in a City as large as Hamilton following process is important. Reacting to individual situations without a process can easily lead to poor implementation and inconsistency as well as unnecessary costs due to inefficiency or correcting poor decisions. So, residents speaking up is important as it ensures that your concerns are being considered. Please continue to do that. But based on the sheer volume of work required, staff will always be prioritizing where the biggest safety improvements can be achieved and will focus on those areas. That necessarily means that there are many other areas that will not be acted on in any given year.

In conclusion, please continue to reach out to my office if you have concerns, but also understand that the desire for immediate change across the City is far beyond our capacity to implement it; however, I will continue to advocate for policy and funding that prioritizes vulnerable road users.

OLT Updates

210 Calvin St

509 Southcote Road

A developer’s decision to end engagement in the planning process with the City and instead appeal directly to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) for approval means that the application becomes a legal matter and City Council no longer has any say in the outcome. The application is removed from the realm of sound local planning and left for lawyers to argue at a Tribunal where City lawyers will defend the City’s opposition. However, I want to ensure you are aware that residents can still participate at the Provincial Tribunal by applying for “Participant Status”. Participant status at the OLT allows you to:

-send the Tribunal a written submission with your concerns

-listen in to the virtual hearings (similar to a Zoom meeting)

-be added to the Tribunal’s mailing list for updates and decisions

Participant Status does not allow you to take part in or speak at hearings. Only the lawyers who have Party Status are permitted to speak. In the past, citizens could apply for Party Status but through the Province’s recently passed Bill 185, the Ford government has removed third-party appeal rights meaning citizens no longer have that right.

For some historical context: In May 2024, before the passing of Bill 185 in June 2024, the Province heard delegations from interested parties to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs at Queen’s Park, and I moved a motion for the City’s Acting General Manager of Planning and Economic Development, Steve Robichaud, to appear before the committee and outline the City’s concerns with the proposed Bill 185. You can watch Acting GM Robichaud’s presentation at this link. The City had/has several major concerns with Bill 185, and one was the Government’s intention to remove third-party appeals. However, despite his and others’ delegations, the Province proceeded with the removal of third-party appeal rights.

As a result, citizens may only send a written submission to the Tribunal outlining their concerns. Nevertheless, you are encouraged to do so, and below are links to information on my website that will help you request participant status for either or both appeals.

210 Calvin Street

509 Southcote Road

Urban Boundary Expansion

Urban Boundary Expansion (UBE) was the topic at Planning Committee on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, due to Doug Ford's new Bill 185 which blows the door wide open for land speculator applications to apply for UBEs.

In 2021, Hamilton residents, by way of the city survey which garnered over 16,000 responses, overwhelmingly chose a firm urban boundary and this direction was approved by Council in November 2021. Hamilton has made policy and zoning changes to absorb the projected population growth within the existing urban boundary. We are well set up for the development of a mix of housing types and price points, including affordable and deeply affordable units, close to jobs, transit, and amenities.

Stopping sprawl development protects Hamilton's Prime Agricultural land including the Greenbelt and Whitebelt lands, and it also means we are not building more infrastructure (roads, sewers, watermains etc.) that we cannot afford to maintain.

When greenfield areas are developed, development charges and the developer pay for most of infrastructure installation costs. But it is the taxpayers who pay for decades, even centuries of maintenance, repair, replacement, and even disposal of that infrastructure. Our city has a $3.8 Billion gap in the maintenance of our EXISTING infrastructure because Hamilton is a sprawling city that doesn't have a sufficient tax base to maintain what we already have.

In the past, higher orders of government allocated much more funding for cities' infrastructure than what is currently allocated, so maintenance largely now falls to property taxpayers. This is why it is crucial for Hamilton to hold our urban boundary firm and avoid adding to our crushing infrastructure funding deficit.

Ford's Bill 185 has resulted in developers appealing the City's denial of their applications to expand the urban boundary. The new Bill allows developers to submit applications to expand the boundary by any size, at any time. As a result, the City is now being forced against our will to:

1) Add $1.5 million to our legal fund to fight appeals at the Ontario Land Tribunal. The City will be forced to use our tax dollars to defend our own Official Plan and our decision to grow within our urban boundary against speculators who seek to profit from expansion.

2) Hire an entire cross-departmental City team to process UBE applications.

3) Consult with Hamiltonians on a framework by which to process these UBE applications. Residents' voices must be heard! Your input and feedback are needed so please consider joining the City's Urban Boundary Expansion mailing list to add your voice. Send an email to [email protected] asking to be added to the email list.

You can read the August 13 Staff report (item 11.3) at this link.

Downspout disconnection pilot program

Many homes across Hamilton have their downspouts connected directly to the stormwater sewer system, rather than being fed into their yards where a significant portion of rainwater can be infiltrated into the ground via lawns or gardens.

Hamilton Water will be conducting a Pilot Downspout Disconnection Program between August 1 and November 31, 2024, in some parts of Ancaster. Please watch for the above notice in your mailbox. This program is fully funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Targeted neighbourhoods will include residents of Old Dundas and Old Ancaster Road.

The purpose of the Pilot program is to reduce peak wet weather flow to sanitary, combined, and storm sewer systems in Hamilton; decrease basement flooding; replenish and protect the groundwater table; and achieve lower energy costs and increased effectiveness of our wastewater treatment facilities.

If you have questions, please contact the City at 905-546-2489

Hamilton Conservation Authority Strategic Plan

The Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) has developed a Conservation Area Strategy to guide the operation and maintenance of the HCA’s conservation lands. The HCA is a major landowner within our watershed area owning or managing 4,732.6 hectares (11,694 acres) of land which represents 10% of our watershed. These lands are locally, provincially - and in some cases internationally - significant and include features such as forests, prairie, wetlands, watercourses, karst, Lake Ontario shoreline, and the Niagara Escarpment.

The Conservation Area Strategy is a living document and will be updated to address changing times and priorities. The HCA’s Strategic Plan will provide overall guidance regarding programs and services. Please take a moment to review the Draft HCA Conservation Area Strategy. You can help refine and shape the final version by submitting your comments here by August 30, 2024.

Housing in Hamilton

Housing and Homelessness remain very challenging topics in Hamilton, and across the country. I’ve read many comments from residents who feel that the City isn’t doing anything to house the nearly 300 people living in the many visible encampments throughout the City.

This file is a provincial responsibility; however, funding from the Province falls far short of what is required to have a meaningful impact. Hamilton’s 2024 budget for Housing & Homelessness is $170M, which is 70% funded by Hamilton property taxpayers, up from 51% in 2023. In absolute dollars for 2023, Hamilton invested $76M – a 30% increase from 2022. For 2024, the City’s investment is $119M which is a further $43M / 57% increase on the record spending in ’23. These costs should not be borne by property taxpayers and we continue to advocate for funding from the other levels of government. As part of the Ontario Big City Mayors, Mayor Horwath has been part of launching solvethecrisis.ca. Please click the link and send a quick message to the Province requesting their help. It’s a message they need to hear loud and clear!

Despite the challenges, there is some good news for Hamilton. At the end of June, federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser visited Hamilton to make a funding announcement that will enable hundreds of affordable homes to be built or renovated in the Hamilton area. Hamilton’s share of the $97 million funding announcement through the National Housing Strategy is $24.7 million. These funds aim to prioritize women and children fleeing violence, seniors, Indigenous peoples, and those with disabilities and mental health and addiction issues, among other vulnerable groups.

Units to be built or repaired in Hamilton include:

60 shelter units

650 units with Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes

55 units at 106 Bay St. N.

60 units at 110 Stoneybrook Dr.

17 units at 16 Steven St.

25 units at New CAP Shelter

and some of the 2,000 units with Victoria Park Community Homes.