​​Have your say. The public OLT comment submission period is open until January 30, 2026

To submit comments you must fill out a "Participant Status Request Form" linked below with instructions, and include your comments on the form. 

 

Key points to make about the Greenbelt and this application:

• The Province of Ontario committed, in 2023, to preserving the integrity of the agricultural and ecological functions of the Greenbelt for the long term.​

• By appealing the City of Hamilton's denial of their application to remove this parcel from the Greenbelt, the applicant for 159-163 Sulphur Springs Road is contravening the Greenbelt Act, the Greenbelt Plan, the Niagara Escarpment Plan, the Provincial Planning Statement, and the City of Hamilton’s Official Plan.​

• The City's denial of this application should be supported and the Tribunal should dismiss this case on the basis the appeal has no merit and that the City's decision cannot be appealed to the OLT as per Section 22(7.1) and (7.2) of the Planning Act, 2004.

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Instructions to submit comments via the Participant Status Request Form

• Find and fill out the form HERE

• OLT Case file number: OLT-25-000847

• Date of first CMC: February 10, 2026 

• Fill in your name and email

• Representative: leave blank

• Type your statement in the box on the form. 

• Save your completed participant request by using the ‘save’ button on the form page. It will save to the 'downloads' folder on your computer

• Write an email to the Case Manager Ms. Kayla Ansell asking to be granted Participant Status for this case and include the OLT case number in the subject line.

• Attach your completed Participant Request Form to your email

• Send your email and the attached Participant Request form to:

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Kayla.Ansell@ontario.ca

roberto.aburto@dentons.com

alice.mihailescu@dentons.com

Patrick.MacDonald@hamilton.ca

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You may wish to send an email to your MPP and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack to let him know that you support the prioritization of agriculture and ecological systems in the Greenbelt and look to him to act to uphold Greenbelt and Planning Act policies and explain why the OLT has permitted this case to proceed against those policies.  

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Tune in to the first online Case Management Conference (CMC) on Feb 10, 2026 at 10 a.m.

​To observe the CMC:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/687587165

Access code: 687-587-165

 

Note, CMCs are administrative meetings allowing legal teams and the OLT to determine details and future dates. There may be more than one CMC before the actual Merit Hearing date. As a Participant at the CMC your camera and mic will be off and use of the chat is not permitted or you will be removed from the proceeding.

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Anyone who experiences technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting Application or who only wishes to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling in to an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll Free): 1-888-299-1889. The access code is as indicated above.​​

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History

The proposed application constitutes an urban boundary expansion into the Greenbelt Plan Area as designated under the Greenbelt Act, 2005 and the proposed uses conflict with the land use policies of the Niagara Escarpment Plan which designates the lands Escarpment Protection and Escarpment Natural, neither of which allow urban development. The Provincial Planning Statement, 2024, states municipal planning decisions must conform or not conflict with Provincial Plans which includes the Niagara Escarpment Plan. The City has significant concerns with this application. It constitutes an urban expansion into the Greenbelt and it conflicts with the land use policies of the Niagara Escarpment Plan which designates the lands “Escarpment Protection” and “Escarpment Natural”, neither of which allow urban development. The Provincial Planning Statement, 2024, states municipal planning decisions must conform or not conflict with Provincial Plans which includes the Niagara Escarpment Plan.​

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Nov, 2025 - City's denial appealed to OLT.

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Sep, 2025 - Application to develop on Ancaster Greenbelt denied at the Planning Committee. 

Staff report and appendices, maps and plans HERE.

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July, 2025 - Community virtual open house meeting held online.

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Dec 17, 2024 - Planning Division receives an Official Plan Amendment application to allow the development of 75 dwellings on a condominium road.