71 Rebecca St | 97 m | 30 fl | Proposed

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by HamiltonBoyInToronto

i think that the argument of Hamilton becoming Toronto or having so many skyscrapers that the views are blocked is laughable .... Hamilton is growing, yes .... but not at any rate to be concerned.... we should always have good planning in mind while growing but stopping progress for fear of becoming a mega city is like not drinking orange juice because you're allergic to grapes.... just doesn't make sense or apply to our situation ;P

I dunno man, I posted a pic a while back that showed toronto in like the 70s and it looked like hamilton does now. If nothing else I would say without proper monitoring it can become a rather slippery slope.

[LRTfan]

no city in North America is adding towers like Toronto. I'll lay some huge $ in Vegas that Hamilton won't be suddenly challenging them.
Fact is, we need density. Preserving this old urban centre with boarded up buildings, empty buildings, parking lots and a stagnant population decade after decade isn't my idea of a good economic growth strategy.
We're sitting on gobs of potential. Time to tap into it and get some swagger (and economy) back here.

[Beedok]

Still, would be nice to see Hamilton keep pace with Yonge and Eglinton.

[HamiltonBoyInToronto]

even in the pictures of Toronto from the 70's there are multiple tall office towers ... and the start of a huge tower... maybe in some pics at street level there were parts of Toronto that resembled Hamilton, however, Toronto experienced a bigger construction boom than almost any other city in the entire world.... I'd say Hamilton fear not this threat lol
but I completely agree with you that growth should be planned and controlled.... just not silly things like height and location..... if someone wants to build something and make a statement here in Hamilton please let them .... as long as the design has some thought and consideration
I feel like some residents in Hamilton are acting as if they are judge and jury

[LRTfan]

I'd be happy for Hamilton to keep pace with Mississauga and Vaughan.

There is zero reason why some of the central city lands designated as 30-stories can't have their height limit totally removed.
Off the top of my head: King and Bay, Bay and Market, Bay and York, the entire parking lot hell zone along Rebecca, Main and Hughson, James and Main/King/MacNab block, all surface lots and 1-2 storey buildings along Main from James to Wellington, development sites adjacent to high-rises in Durand, King and Queen.

You get the idea....our central core where high-rises already exist should be wide open for well-designed, thoughtful, street-animating developments, regardless of height.
I can understand someone not wanting a 50 storey building on James North at Colborne, or Augusta at Catharine. But in our central core, which is rather small by the way compared to many cities, we need to encourage landmarks and great density.

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

Actually all of the green belt along the escarpment IS protected land - a mile deep all the way across
.

Nobody is building anything on the front face of the escarpment. But to say that means we can't have more buildings below it that are taller, or on top of it that are taller doesn't make much sense. Especially since we've had both for 4 decades.
Heck, the new hospital re-build along Concession literally hangs over the edge of the escarpment face in one spot. It's 100% urban land in an urban city.
Concession St and Mt Park Ave are lined with tall buildings. Hasn't bothered anyone for decades.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by HamiltonBoyInToronto

even in the pictures of Toronto from the 70's there are multiple tall office towers ... and the start of a huge tower... maybe in some pics at street level there were parts of Toronto that resembled Hamilton, however, Toronto experienced a bigger construction boom than almost any other city in the entire world.... I'd say Hamilton fear not this threat lol
but I completely agree with you that growth should be planned and controlled.... just not silly things like height and location..... if someone wants to build something and make a statement here in Hamilton please let them .... as long as the design has some thought and consideration
I feel like some residents in Hamilton are acting as if they are judge and jury

Back in the 70's and 80's Toronto had quite stringent planning controls including height restrictions. Selling off the rights to airspace was part of the market back then. It's only been in the last 15 - 20 years where growth has been unchecked and largely due to the OMB who have taken a more active role in the approval process.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by LRTfan

Nobody is building anything on the front face of the escarpment. But to say that means we can't have more buildings below it that are taller, or on top of it that are taller doesn't make much sense. Especially since we've had both for 4 decades.
Heck, the new hospital re-build along Concession literally hangs over the edge of the escarpment face in one spot. It's 100% urban land in an urban city.
Concession St and Mt Park Ave are lined with tall buildings. Hasn't bothered anyone for decades.

yeah I still have nightmares of that entire hospital sliding down the escarpment in a mudslide hahaha.. it's TOO close to the edge imho.

[LRTfan]

inmates are officially running the asylum.
Received confirmation from the builder that the city won't allow this to be taller than 30 stories.
Because NIMBYs.....

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by LRTfan

inmates are officially running the asylum.
Received confirmation from the builder that the city won't allow this to be taller than 30 stories.
Because NIMBYs.....

Wow. This is incredibly disappointing.

[durandy]

With royal assent of Bill 139, OPA and ZBL amendments are no longer allowed to the OMB, so unless the refusal is inconsistent with the OP or provincial plan, there is no longer an appeal. We are now in a tricky period for developers because planning departments have been conditioned to refuse, refuse for so long on the expectation of an OMB rehearing. Now that there is no longer an appeal, things will be in flux for the next few months as developers figure out how to get what they want.

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by durandy

With royal assent of Bill 139, OPA and ZBL amendments are no longer allowed to the OMB, so unless the refusal is inconsistent with the OP or provincial plan, there is no longer an appeal. We are now in a tricky period for developers because planning departments have been conditioned to refuse, refuse for so long on the expectation of an OMB rehearing. Now that there is no longer an appeal, things will be in flux for the next few months as developers figure out how to get what they want.

Hamilton will lose out on a ton of developments in the coming years. We've been closed for business most of my life, and continue to be today. Not sure what it will take to get locals to elect politicians who actually have a clue.

Many modern urban tower projects need extra height to increase profit margins as government red tape, development fees, increasing taxes and other issues cut away at their margins.

I hope a high profile builder or two publicly walks away from the city and makes it clear why. Not that council will care, but many citizens tired of paying the highest taxes in Ontario will.

[drpgq]

This is depressing, but not surprising.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by durandy

With royal assent of Bill 139, OPA and ZBL amendments are no longer allowed to the OMB, so unless the refusal is inconsistent with the OP or provincial plan, there is no longer an appeal. We are now in a tricky period for developers because planning departments have been conditioned to refuse, refuse for so long on the expectation of an OMB rehearing. Now that there is no longer an appeal, things will be in flux for the next few months as developers figure out how to get what they want.

I thought that if they started the process before the new year, they would be covered under the old rules. I may be wrong but I thought I read that somewhere. That's why we had a flurry of announcements last fall, so they could get in under the wire.

[durandy]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

I thought that if they started the process before the new year, they would be covered under the old rules. I may be wrong but I thought I read that somewhere. That's why we had a flurry of announcements last fall, so they could get in under the wire.

You're correct! My bad. https://www.stikeman.com/en-ca/kh/re...for-OMB-Reform

 appeals that are already before the Ontario Municipal Board as of the date of Royal Assent of Bill 139 would be subject to the existing rules and would be heard by the Ontario Municipal Board;
 appeals made after the new rules come into force would be subject to the new rules and heard by the new Local Planning Appeal Tribunal;
 appeals of matters between the date of Royal Assent and the date that the new rules are proclaimed into force:
o would be heard by the Ontario Municipal Board if the planning matter began (e.g. the complete application was received) before the date of Royal Assent; and
o would be heard by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal if the planning matter began afterthe date of Royal Assent.

The question then is whether this one is one of those rushed applications brought in before Dec 12 2017?

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by LRTfan

inmates are officially running the asylum.
Received confirmation from the builder that the city won't allow this to be taller than 30 stories.
Because NIMBYs.....

Was it the building department or planning and development that told them that or someone else. I have a feeling if it goes to committee or council it might get approval. The bureaucrats don't get the last say and hopefully council will see that it may put a damper on downtown developments if they start blocking developments because they are too tall.

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

Was it the building department or planning and development that told them that or someone else. I have a feeling if it goes to committee or council it might get approval. The bureaucrats don't get the last say and hopefully council will see that it may put a damper on downtown developments if they start blocking developments because they are too tall.

planning department is the one enforcing this, even though their new height bylaw downtown hasn't been passed as far as I can tell.
Staff are basically putting developers in the position of having their file sent to council with a recommended approval if they comply with 30 stories....they will send the file to council with a recommendation to deny if a builder tries to push back.

All this because of the Durand Neighbourhood Association. Amazing. What a total lack of leadership at city hall. A few whiners can now prevent hundreds of millions in investment in the entire downtown core.

[Sehnsucht]

Originally Posted by LRTfan

planning department is the one enforcing this, even though their new height bylaw downtown hasn't been passed as far as I can tell.
Staff are basically putting developers in the position of having their file sent to council with a recommended approval if they comply with 30 stories....they will send the file to council with a recommendation to deny if a builder tries to push back.

All this because of the Durand Neighbourhood Association. Amazing. What a total lack of leadership at city hall. A few whiners can now prevent hundreds of millions in investment in the entire downtown core.

Doubly ridiculous when you consider all the shabby apartment buildings they did let happen in Durand. That is a highly urban neighbourhood, so there's no reason for height restrictions. And three phases of City Square will inevitably become squalid--a real shame that it didn't turn out to be a tall, terraced tower.

[LikeHamilton]

The mayor is not a fan of tall buildings. I listened to him on CHML at the beginning of December and he stated he did not like did not like very tall buildings and talked about 71 Rebecca Street as being a 20 to 30 story project. But he also said in the interview that if Hamilton where to have very tall high rise buildings, they should be in the core.

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

The mayor is not a fan of tall buildings. I listened to him on CHML at the beginning of December and he stated he did not like did not like very tall buildings and talked about 71 Rebecca Street as being a 20 to 30 story project. But he also said in the interview that if Hamilton where to have very tall high rise buildings, they should be in the core.

awesome way to run a city. What if we get a mayor who doesn't like ice cream? LOL