Hamilton council joins chorus against Bill 23

‘It’s our job to raise those concerns with the government,’ Mayor Andrea Horwath says

Hamilton council is asking the province to walk back key provisions of housing legislation that city officials worry will strangle municipalities financially, compromise local planning and harm the environment.

That letter is to be the first in the series of missives to the Progressive Conservatives on the effects of Bill 23, council said Wednesday.

“The conversation is going to continue around our council table as we outline further some of those impacts,” Mayor Andrea Horwath told The Spectator.

City politicians also plan to ask Tory MPPs Neil Lumsden and Donna Skelly to appear before council to speak about the recently passed More Homes Built Faster Act. Lumsden (Hamilton East— Stoney Creek) didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but Skelly told The Spectator in an emailed statement she’d be “happy to meet” with council members on Bill 23 “or any other issue that impacts our community.”

“The best way to do so is to call my office and set up an appointment,” the Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP added.

Hamilton is one voice in a chorus of municipalities decrying the wide-reaching legislation. The province says the bill is meant to create 1.5 million homes over 10 years to tackle affordability through streamlined approvals and development incentives.

“We’ve seen this government — and other governments in the past — make changes based on comments and based on concerns that are raised, and it’s our job to raise those concerns with the government,” Horwath said.

Finance staff have estimated, with some details still unclear, that the More Homes Built Faster Act could cost the city between $14 million and $25 million a year in foregone development fees.

The legislation lowers, phases in or eliminates development charges on some new builds. Municipalities rely on the fees to pay for infrastructure, such as sewers and roads, needed to service growth.

Mike Zegarac, general manager of finance, has warned the losses would have to be recovered through local taxes and rates — with no apparent provisions to oblige developers to lower housing prices.

That makes the province’s affordability argument “specious,” Coun. Brad Clark contended. “The developers are getting a huge break, a huge Christmas gift, while taxpayers in Hamilton and other municipalities are seeing the Grinch.”

City planners have also warned Bill 23 will weaken environmental protection measures and debilitate heritage conservation efforts, while the province’s proposal to remove land from the Greenbelt has sparked demonstrations locally and elsewhere in Ontario.

“It’s obviously important to taxpayers,” Coun. Matt Francis told his colleagues Wednesday about the potential financial grief of the omnibus legislation.

To that end, the Ward 5 councillor introduced a motion to have the mayor and council ask the province for a variety of changes, including “funding and funding tools” to match what the city stands to lose in charges.

Another request is to expand the reach of inclusionary zoning, a tool that allows municipalities to have builders provide a certain percentage of affordable units in developments, to the entire city, as well as definitions of affordability for “low and moderate household income.”

Francis’s motion gained traction, but councillors suggested that beyond the financial implications of the bill, the message to the province should also hammer home its broader social and environmental consequences.

“This is more than being kept financially whole,” Coun. Ted McMeekin said, arguing the “draconian” legislation also threatens wetlands, neighbourhood parks and local democracy.

Coun. Craig Cassar also lamented the province’s recent decision to force Hamilton to expand its urban area for development.

“It really limits our ability to build that better, more progressive, inclusive city that we were heading down towards.”