Okay, everybody. Thanks for coming out this evening. Um and welcome to our virtual public open house for the privately initiated secondary plan application for the Elfrida urban expansion lands. Uh I'm Gabe Hayworth. I'm the director and senior advisor of strategic growth initiatives, and I will be running through how things function for this evening and providing the presentation. Uh Before we began, I'd like to read the city's uh land acknowledgement. The city of Hamilton is situated upon the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Mississaugas. This land is covered by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, which has an agreement between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe to share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. We further acknowledge that this land is covered [clears throat] by the Between the Lakes Purchase 1792 between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Today, the city of Hamilton is home to many indigenous people from across Turtle Island, North America, and we recognize that we must do more to learn about the rich history of this land so that we can better understand our roles as residents, neighbors, partners, and caretakers. Next slide. So, you can see on the slide the agenda for this evening. Um we'll be doing welcoming and introductions. Uh I'll be going through some housekeeping type items, providing background, um discussing the Elfrida secondary plan application, talking about some next steps, and then there's a question for question and answer before closing remarks. So, welcome and thank you for attending and joining us tonight. Uh joining me tonight are city staff who are currently in the process of reviewing the submitted materials for this application. We are thankful to have our subject matter experts here to field any questions from members of the public, and I'll provide instructions for submitting your questions shortly. You can see the QO QR code on the screen uh to to uh access. Thank you. With us tonight are the following subject matter experts: Charlie Tolman, senior project manager, policy planning; Melanie Pham, program lead, sustainable communities; Jill Gki, manager, transportation planning services; Gavin Norman, manager, infrastructure planning. Trevor Favretto, senior project manager, transit strategy and planning, public works; Melissa Kitty, natural heritage planner. I would like to note that participant that participants may wish to use the QR code provided that I showed on the slide or the website link provided in the chat for additional information and and full studies relating to the privately initiated Olfrida Secondary Plan application. All the materials discussed today and more can be found on the city's website. So, as far as help housekeeping goes, the purpose of the meeting is to inform the public those attending tonight of the application materials provided by the applicants. Opportunity for the public to provide comments, questions before staff complete the recommendation reports. And in far as meeting information and technical support, this meeting will be recorded. The presentation deck and recording will be available on the city's urban boundary expansion application webpage. Participants' cameras and microphones have been turned off and screen names will not be displayed. If you are experiencing technical diffi- difficul- difficulties, please let us know in the chat. Thanks. So, in terms of providing feedback, use the question and answer the Q&A function to ask questions or share comments. Questions will be answered at the end of the presentation. Please ensure your questions are clear, polite, and precise. Questions will be reviewed by a moderator, combined when similar, and shared with the presenters as appropriate. Not all questions may be addressed. All questions, comments, and concerns will be incorporated into the recommendation report for August 25th, 2026. If you would like to ask questions or provide comments at a later time, please email alfredasecondaryplan@hamilton.ca. Just to clarify, we will not be taking questions verbally today and as such the raise hand function should not be used. We will instead be receiving comments and questions through the Q&A function to ensure we have a record of these submissions so that they can be considered in a fullsome way through the staff report. Before we began, we would like to clarify that this is a privately initiated secondary plan application, not a city-led secondary plan application. This means that the applicant has submitted a proposal to the city requesting approval of a secondary plan for these lands. At this stage, city staff have not formed planning opinions on the application. Staff are currently reviewing the applicant's submission materials and supporting studies to assess the proposal against applicable planning policies, technical requirements, and the public interest. So, to set the stage for tonight, we'll start off with some background context. How did we get to this open house tonight? There may be some confusion heading into tonight's material as a previous urban boundary expansion application was submitted to the city and was denied by city council in 2025. While related, the urban boundary expansion and secondary plan applications serve different purposes. An urban boundary expansion application considers whether the land should be included within Hamilton's urban area. As shown on the screen, a UB application for the Alfredo lands was processed in 2024-2025. To recap, in November 2024, the city of Hamilton received an official plan amendment to expand the urban boundary for the Alfredo lands. Staff hosted an open house in April while reviewing the application with a statutory public meeting June 2025. The application was denied by city council as I mentioned in June 2025. The applicant then appealed council's decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal. And the hearing date for the urban expansion appeal is set for January 18th, 2027. While the urban boundary expansion application is currently under appeal and is before the Ontario Land Tribunal, the Planning Act allows the applicant to submit an official plan amendment to establish a secondary plan for the Alfredo lands. A secondary plan is a land use plan for a particular geographic region area of a municipality that is prepared as an amendment to an official plan. Secondary plans are blueprints for how a community will grow. What while secondary plans are often city-led plans, they can also be privately initiated. Secondary plans identify more detailed land uses, densities, infrastructure requirements, >> [clears throat and cough] >> design requirements, and other implementing actions appropriate for a community. In a privately initiated secondary plan, an applicant initiates the secondary plan process to demonstrate to the city that growth will occur in a coordinated and sustainable manner. This process includes comprehensive technical studies and opportunities for community engagement to shape the future of the area. Once the city's review of the application is complete, a staff recommendation report is presented to planning committee and council on the proposed privately initiated official plan amendment. On April 30th, 2026, the applicant submitted the Alfredo secondary plan official secondary plan official plan amendment application. In May 2026, the city deemed the application complete. Staff are currently in the public consultation and review phase of the application. Following the statutory public meeting, council will make a decision on the privately initiated secondary plan application. If a decision is not reached within the legislated 120-day time frame, or if the applicant disagrees with the outcome, the matter may be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Tonight's open house is intended to provide information about the materials received, the process for the application review, and the under the Planning Act, and to answer questions, gather comments from the members of the public. As a reminder, staff have not formed planning opinions about the applications yet, but are in the process of reviewing the materials submitted by the applicants. A staff recommendation report report will be considered at a special planning committee and council meeting on August 25th of this year. Next slide. >> [clears throat] >> The infographic on the screen outlines the application submission and review process for a secondary plan application. The Elfrieda secondary plan application was submitted on April 30th, 2026, and received on May 1st, 2026, starting the city's 120-day review timeline. This means the city has until the end of August 2026 to make a decision. If no decision is made by then, the applicants can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, which is the provincial body that adjudicates land use planning matters. Similarly, if city council denies the application, the applicants may appeal the decision to the tribunal. All appeal rights are as I mentioned, through the Planning Act. >> [snorts] >> Later in the presentation, we will walk through how the city evaluates the application and prepares a recommendation, such as what policies apply and what studies are required. There are existing provincial and municipal policies, which are used to guide the applicant's submissions, as well as staff's evaluation of the application. In particular, direction provided through the provincial planning statement and city's official plan must be considered. The city will be evaluating the application based on the applicable policies in the provincial planning statement and the city's official plan. We have summarized some of the policies on the next few slides, but please note that this is not the full list of the PPS and official plan policies that will be used to evaluate the application. The staff report will include a full policy evaluation of the application. Key sections of the PPS that staff will be looking at include section 2.1 of the PPS directing planning authorities to support the achievement of complete communities by meeting the policies objective objectives listed on the screen. Similar to section 2.1, section 2.31 of the PPS outlines the general policies for settlement areas which are shown on the screen. This section directs planning authorities to consider several factors when evaluating applications such as assuring proposed development efficiently use land and resources, optimizes existing and planned infrastructure, and public service facilities, supports active transportation, are transit supportive as appropriate, and are freight supportive. As noted earlier, the staff report will include a full policy evaluation of the application. As previously mentioned, there are different PPS policies that will be used to evaluate the application. In the PPS, there are policies related to subject areas such as natural heritage or transportation systems. A list of the PPS sections that will be used to evaluate the application is listed on the screen. Please note this is not the full list of the PPS and official plan policies that that be used to evaluate the application. The staff report will include a full policy evaluation of the application. As previously noted, the Elfrida urban boundary expansion application was denied by council and that decision has been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Should the lands come into the urban boundary as a result of an OLT decision, secondary planning would be required for the area. Section 242 of the Urban Hamilton Official Plan provides direction to the applicants as they submit their development proposals and secondary plan. The Urban Hamilton Official Plan outlines goals, objectives, and policies to support the official plan as a whole. These goals, objectives, and policies include developing complete communities, diverse housing options, integrated transportation, sustainable street design, natural heritage protection, climate adaptation, greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies, and financial sustainability. We will now provide an overview of the proposed privately initiated Elfrida secondary plan application before opening the floor to questions and comments. We would also like to once again emphasize that the information shared through the presentation about these applications reflects the perspectives of the applicants' consultants that that completed the studies and does not represent the views of city staff who are currently reviewing the submissions. As a brief overview of the application, the Elfrida secondary plan application was submitted by the Elfrida Community Builders Group Inc., which consists of many of the landowners of the large portion and a large portion of the subject lands. The applicant is seeking to establish a secondary plan on approximately a little over 1,220 hectares of land area through the proposed amendment to Elfrida secondary plan areas bounded by Second Road and Hendershot Road to the east, Golf Club Road to the south, Trinity Church Road to the southwest, an east-west hydro corridor to the northwest, Swayze Road and Upper Centennial Parkway to the northwest, and Mud Street to the north. The proposed use for the site includes a mixture of residential, commercial, and other uses. The applicant estimates the area will accommodate approximately a little over 64,000 people and a bit over 5,900 jobs for an approximate density of 71.7 person and jobs per hectare. This secondary plan would establish the long term land use framework for the community, including the plan location housing, employment areas, parks, transportation infrastructure, and community services. The application also proposes policies to guide future development and protect natural heritage features. Again, while related, the urban boundary expansion and secondary plan applications serve different purposes. The urban boundary expansion application considers whether the land should be included within Hamilton's urban area. The secondary plan application establishes a vision and planning framework for how the lands could develop if urban development is ultimately permitted. Some of the existing features on the land include a hydro corridor, which separates the southern part of the site from the urban areas to the north, natural heritage features, rural roads, commercial, employment, industrial, and institutional uses, agricultural uses, as well as about 148 residential dwellings. As part of the privately initiated secondary plan application and through the formal consultation process, the applicant has submitted the studies listed on the screen. So, I'll give you a moment to to read over those studies. These materials are intended to evaluate how the proposed development could be integrated within the existing community, how it aligns with the city's long-term planning objectives, how potential opportunities and challenges associated with future development may be addressed, how the lands can be serviced with water, wastewater, and roads, the drainage for the lands, how the protection of natural features and sustainability are addressed. Full submitted copies and summary sheets of the studies listed above are available on the city's website. To see the full application with all of the studies, please follow the link in the chat to the city's webpage. The city has requested external peer reviews for four of these studies. Staff are awaiting comments from the peer review uh consultants. Those are on the land use, air quality and odor impact study, uh fiscal impact analysis and financial strategy study, commercial land needs assessment, and energy and environmental assessment report. We will now provide a brief overview of the applicant's submission materials for the privately initiated secondary plan on the Alfrida lands. Again, this overview presents a summary of the of the secondary plan application and not the opinions of staff. On the screen is the applicant's proposed land use plan. The proposed secondary plan includes a variety of land use designations establishing and outlining what uses are permitted and where those uses are envisioned. Just The proposed secondary plan includes a variety of land use designations that establish and outline what uses are permitted and where those uses are envisioned. The secondary plan provides for the full hierarchy of parks including two community parks, 11 neighborhood parks, and public squares planned for the community for the community nodes. In total, according to the applicant's proposal, the proposed parks represent approximately 5% of the development lands and achieve the minimum size requirements of the Urban Hamilton Official Plan. The proposed Elfrida Secondary Plan contemplates five Catholic elementary schools and one Catholic secondary school and seven public elementary schools and one public secondary school. As a reminder, a digital copy of the proposed concept plan is included on the city's website accessible through the link in the chat. An Indigenous Engagement Framework Report was submitted to summarize the engagement uh approach, identify Indigenous rights holders, and Indigenous organizations notified of the project, and document the engagement activities conducted to date. According to the author of the Indigenous Engagement Framework Report, the applicant's engagement with Indigenous communities began in November 2024 in relationship to the urban boundary expansion and has continued through 2026 as part of the secondary planning process. Outreach was undertaken with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River, the Hodinohsho:ni Development Institute, the Huron-Wendat Nation, the Métis Nation of Ontario, and the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre. The applicant held a visual meeting with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation in May 2025 to review the proposed urban expansion application and supporting materials. Engagement activities continued in 2026 with notification to Indigenous communities regarding the Alfreada Secondary Plan application and associated studies and a meeting with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation held on March 6, 2026 to present the secondary plan proposal and supporting technical work. Indigenous communities have expressed interest in environmental stewardship, cultural heritage protection, and continued dialogue through the planning process. According to the applicant, input received through the engagement has informed the project team's approach to environmental review, archaeological assessments, and the ongoing sharing of project information with the Indigenous communities. The applicant's Indigenous Engagement Framework Report identifies that engagement with um First Nations, Indigenous right holders, and Indigenous organizations has been undertaken in a matter consistent with the provincial planning statement and Hamilton Urban Official Plan and broader commitments to reconciliation and respectful relationship building with Indigenous communities. A housing needs assessment was submitted to demonstrate how the application contributes to the housing targets and supports housing policies and strategies, including providing a mix of housing unit types, densities, and sizes. According to the author of the housing needs assessment, residential units are anticipated to be developed in a mix and range of unit types and tenures, including single detached, semi-detached, townhouses, including street, block, back-to-back, stacked, and stacked back-to-back apartment and condominium dwelling units. The application specifies that specific tenure and inclusion of affordable housing, house with supports, rent-to-own models, and or financial or land use contributions towards affordable housing will be determined through future planning applications. The assessment states that the population of the Alfriston study area is anticipated to increase significantly as the Alfriston secondary plan area is developed. A full build-out of the Alfriston secondary plan area is projected to accommodate approximately 64,392 people with a minimum density of just over 70 people and jobs per hectare. And that is a significant reduction from what was applied for for the urban boundary expansion application. A commercial lay commercial needs assessment was submitted to determine the amount, type, location, and function of commercial uses needed to support the planned growth in the Alfriston lands. According to the commercial needs assessment, the author identifies that the Alfriston lands benefit [clears throat] from being near several established commercial nodes, and that these existing nodes are anticipated to continue fulfilling regional re re- regional retail service commercial needs, particularly as they are planned to intensify over time. The applicant anticipates that future retail service commercial uses accommodated within the Alfriston lands will support the daily and weekly needs of local residents, visitors, and employees of the surrounding community. The assessment estimates that there will be market demand for approximately 147,500 to 176,500 square meters of new retail service commercial space needed to service sale Friday lands and the surrounding area. The authors anticipate that future retail service commercial space in the Alfrida area are to be in a mixed-use format with a need to accommodate some commercial uses in stand-alone buildings. The applicant identifies that new commercial space in the Alfrida community area should be directed to locations that have the highest visibility. The assessment indicates that to implement the findings of this report, the proposed Alfrida secondary plan includes two mixed-use designations, mixed-use medium and mixed-use high density, to provide the required commercial space. The secondary plan proposes approximately 70 hectares of mixed-use medium-density lands and about 8.24 hectares of mixed-use high-density lands, which permit both stand-alone commercial and mixed-use buildings. To address key questions related to the costs of providing and maintaining infrastructure over time in the proposed expansion area, including long-term capital and operating costs to the city, the applicant submitted a financial impact analysis and financial strategy report. According to the author of the assessment, it is estimated that the development charges paid by the developer to the city will be approximately 1.97 billion at full build-out based on current in-force development charge rates and ongoing revenue of 319 million per year. At full build-out, the Alfrida lands are estimated, according to the the study, to result in ongoing operating costs of 178.5 million annually. An additional estimated 17.3 million in annual life cycle replacement cost to replace municipal infrastructure within the Elfrida lands at the end of its useful life cycle is anticipated by the study. Through their analysis, the author argues that the Elfrida community area will have a positive fiscal impact on the city of Hamilton and are expected to result in a positive net operating impact for the city in 2031 and maintain a surplus each year thereafter. The applicant submitted a water and wastewater servicing master plan to address municipal servicing strategy for the proposed development including grading and road networks, sanitary and water services, sanitary sanitary wastewater collection, and treatment, water supply and distribution, storm water servicing, phasing of development, geotechnical and hydrogeological conditions, provisions of utilities, and natural hazard components. According to the author, preliminary proposed grades and evaluations designed to maintain the existing drainage patterns and provide overland flow to the proposed storm water management blocks. The subject lands are currently not provided with water infrastructure servicing and will require an extension of the existing local water distribution system to and throughout the Elfrida lands. A conceptual potable water distribution network has been developed comprised of primarily of 400 mm diameter water mains and supplemented by 300 mm water mains to provide internal distribution and system looping. The majority of the subject lands can be serviced by a a of sub-trunk gravity sanitary sewers ranging in size. The sub trunk sewer system is designed according to the study to outlet to the future Dickinson Road and the existing upper Centennial Parkway sanitary trunk sewers. To alleviate existing capacity restrictions within the existing King Street sewer, a new lower Centennial Parkway trunk is required according to the study. Stormwater management facilities will be sized to provide peak flow control, quality control, and erosion control, and will discharge into existing tributaries. The proposed Offredda lands wastewater system analysis are to be reviewed and refined as required considering the further analysis of the city's capacities in the city's existing and planned wastewater collection treatment systems. Additionally, subsequent refinements to road alignments, land use plans, population projections, and servicing strategies phasings may be required. Further discussions with city staff are required, according to the study, to better understand how the increase in the anticipated water demands of the subject lands may impact proposed water infrastructure projects in the city and the timing of such projects. The author states site can be serviced through the extension of existing utilities, including hydro, gas, cable TV, and telephone through applications to each service provider will be provided to confirm capacity of his exist if existing services. Okay. To review the main aspects of the proposed development from a transportation engineering perspective. The applicant submitted a transportation assessment. According to the authors, existing constraints in the road network from a traffic operations perspective were noted at the intersections of Upper Red Hill Valley Parkway and Rymal Road East and Upper Centennial Parkway and Mud Street East. Further assessment was recommended to determine to determine if significant queuing concerns are observed. The conceptual rights of way for the arterial, major collector, minor collector, and local roads have been designed to accommodate anticipated traffic volumes, active transportation facilities, utilities, streetscape elements, and travel lanes. Cycling infrastructure is proposed to be focused around schools, parks, trail connections, as well as the Olfrida Gateway Transit Hub. Protected intersections are recommended near these active transportation trip generators to promote safety and reduce collisions. Pedestrian network gaps should be minimized where feasible with the inclusion of signalized crossings, all-way stop control, or yield control approaches recommended at key intersections and road network connections. The proposed Olfrida Gateway is intended to be central to be a central hub for Olfrida service by the E-Line Bus Rapid Transit route and connecting to areas such as Confederation Go and Eastgate Square. Proposed new routes included in the report, the proposed report by the applicant includes Olfrida Gateway and Airport Employment Growth District, a connection to the community of Binbrook, and extend the planned route 36 Rymal to provide access between the subject lands and the Heritage Green Terminal. The transportation demand management strategies envisioned by the report are to help lower the vehicular traffic by promoting the other modes of transportation. As development proceeds, comprehensive transportation impact studies would be required by the proposed approach to support future development applications within the Elfraida lands. As far as urban design guidelines go, the applicant submitted an urban design to submitted urban design guidelines as part of the application. The it outlines the objectives for the character, form, and pattern of development in Elfraida and illustrates the design intent of the secondary plan. The main points are to create focal points and corridors to establish and identify community structure, including gateways to Elfraida, as well as design streetscapes with an enhanced and coordinated approach to landscaping, street tree planting, sidewalks, bike facilities, lighting, and utilities, and to ensure an active street life where appropriate. As well as the goal is to create community identity by establishing a high-quality public realm, integrating placemaking opportunities, and providing a high standard of urban design. The submitted guidelines provide interfaces of integrated and complementary land uses along the Elfraida edges to promote compatibility between land uses and between adjacent differing land uses to provide the appropriate transition. The our goal the goal of the submitted guidelines is to develop to develop pedestrian-scaled neighborhoods within Elfraida to promote social interaction, active streetscapes, and walkable neighborhoods. Uh I'll speak a bit about the community infrastructure assessment that was submitted with the application. The applicant submitted uh the assessment to evaluate the current and planned community infrastructure and identify where new recreational facilities, parks, public services, schools, and emergency services may be needed to support the existing surrounding area and anticipated population growth in Aldershot to the year 2051. According to the author of the assessment, the applicant proposes 14 parks, including two community parks and 12 neighborhood parks. Based on an anticipated population of approximately 64,400, the applicant has identified a range of recreation park facilities to serve the area. Facilities are proposed within both existing and planned park locations throughout the secondary plan area. According to the applicant's study, the proposed park system would provide sufficient coverage and capacity to accommodate identified recreation needs. So, I'm going to talk about next steps. Um The complete submission of all the studies by the applicant along with other materials related to the application can be viewed on our website. A link is posted in the chat to this page. We would also encourage you to sign up for the urban boundary notification list using the QR code. We use that list to inform uh email blast on the secondary plan, as well. Uh that QR code on the screen or by visiting the hamilton.ca/ube. This notification list will send the an email update about the um about the application uh as it as it progresses through the system. And Okay, so in terms of next steps, the public is to submit comments by June 18th to the Alfrida Secondary Plan at hamilton.ca page. City staff review and analyze all application materials and public comments. Finalization of a staff report to planning committee and council. And that report will be for the August 25th, 2026 planning committee meeting. That's a special planning committee and council meeting on August 25th, 2026. And that's when the statutory public meeting will be held where you'll be able to provide comments as well on the application. I want to thank everybody for coming out this evening and listening to what's kind of a longer presentation, I know, but there's a lot of ground to cover and there's a lot there there is material that we didn't touch on and to any extent. Um but I wanted to give everybody a flavor for what is being proposed and an understanding of the process and important dates coming up as well. Um so I want to thank everybody for participating. I want to remind everyone of the in-person open house June 17th, 6:00 to 8:00, Salvation Army Winterberry Heights Church. Please come out if you think you want to learn anything further or talk to staff some more about the application as well as spread the news out there that we are having another open house. Uh we would like to get as many people as we can out to these events. Um so thanks very much and as as Vikram mentioned, please contact uh staff at the the the link provided if you have further questions, um anything you want to discuss, you we're available with a phone call as well. Um and we look forward to chatting more about the application uh as this moves through the process. So thanks for coming out.