ADVOCATES ARGUE GREENBELT SHOULD BE KEPT STATUS QUO

When the Greenbelt was originally proposed, Robert Pasuta and other farmers opposed it.

But as time went on and development took off, the former rural Flamborough councillor, who lives on a 122-acre farm near Campbellville and farms close to 400 acres with his family, said farmers began to appreciate the legislation.

"It's preserving agricultural land," said Pasuta, adding development is occurring at a "rapid pace" in the area. "Especially if you don't travel to developing areas every day, whether you're in Waterdown or in Hamilton on the Mountain, Stoney Creek,

Binbrook, it's unbelievable."

The Greenbelt, created in 2005 by provincial legislation, is a protected area of green space, farmland, forests, wetlands and watersheds in southern Ontario that encompasses 2 million acres of land.

Pasuta said agricultural land is often at risk for development as it is easiest to build roads and homes on farmland, as it is already cleared, and for the most part, flat.

In November, Hamilton city council voted 13-3 to reject an urban boundary expansion, which would have seen politicians greenlight a staff proposal to add roughly 3,200 acres of prime farmland not protected by the Greenbelt to the urban boundary. Instead, council focused on future growth within the existing urban footprint.

Municipalities like Hamilton were tasked by the province to update their official plans by July 2022 to reflect land needs over the next 30 years. Provincial forecasts show the city's population is expected to increase by 236,000 people to 820,000 by 2051, leading to a need for 110,320 more residential units.

In October 2021, thenMinister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark called the no-expansion approach for Hamilton "irresponsible" and "unrealistic."

In April, then-Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP and now Progressive Conservative candidate Donna Skelly said council's urban boundary decision was fuelled by an "anti-housing and anti-growth ideology" that's choking housing supply during an affordability crisis.

Clark, speaking alongside Skelly at Queen's Park, said he would consider sending the updated official plan, including the urban boundary decision, to the Ontario Land Tribunal for review. However, as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Clark has the power to reject the city's proposal.

Opposed to urban expansion, Pasuta was pleased to see council vote to keep the existing urban boundary. But he fears expansion is coming and can be changed with "the stroke of the government's pen."

As the population grows, the Flamborough farmer said the province will need more food. And to grow food, you need land. Once the farmland is developed, there's no getting it back, said Pasuta. That's where the Greenbelt comes in.

"(The Greenbelt) needs to stay in place at this point in time, without any change from the government," he said.

Annette Webber, lives on 10th Concession West near Freelton. She is also concerned about sprawl, but worries it is inevitable.

"I just so worry that this province is going down a path of support the developer, support the developer, support the developer, screw the people."

That's a concern shared by Environment Hamilton's executive director Lynda Lukasik.

Lukasik feels the Greenbelt is even more important today than when it was enacted, in part, due to a deeper understanding of the climate crisis.

She argued the Greenbelt should be expanded to include 3,300 acres of the so-called "whitebelt" lands between the urban boundary and the Greenbelt — land that was part of the urban boundary expansion proposal. She noted the majority of "whitebelt" land in Hamilton is located on the escarpment to the south of the city from the airport lands to Elfrida.

"Inflicting harm on the Greenbelt or not growing it, sacrificing more of our prime farmland? We're cutting our nose off to spite our face if we continue to do that."

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As FlamboroughGlanbrook prepares to go to the polls June 2, the Review wanted to dig into an issue of importance to voters — the importance and future of the Greenbelt.