Stoney Creek residents expressed a mixture of hope and consternation about the city’s proposed new Urban Official Plan document.

Peter Wobschall, who attended the evening public session Jan. 20 at the Stoney Creek Municipal Services Centre on Jones Road, said what Hamilton’s planners are proposing is a transformation of how people will live within their neighbourhoods for the future.

“I’m energized. I liked what I heard,” said the Stoney Creek resident. “They are trying to get out of the suburban sprawl.”

But Georgina Beattie of Winona, who has been involved in protecting her community over the years from unmitigated growth, lamented the limited number of people who turned out for the two public meetings.

“It’s unfortunate the citizens don’t understand how important this is to them,” she said. “They usually don’t believe it will affect them until something happens in their community years later, and then it is too late.”

A total of about 26 people turned out for the two public meetings held Jan. 27.

About 15 people attended the afternoon session, while about 11 met with city planners in the evening session from 6-8 p. m.

The public meetings are being held across the city in all the former suburban areas.

The remaining meetings are Jan. 26 at the Hamilton Convention Centre, Binbrook Fair Grounds building Jan. 29 and Ancaster Salvation Army Meadowlands Feb. 2.

The sessions are from 2-4 p. m. and 6-8 p. m.

The Urban Official Plan will join with the Rural Official Plan, approved by council in 2006.

It is a blueprint for the long-term vision of how Hamilton and the former suburban municipalities will manage land use planning changes over the next 20 years. Councillors this week agreed to appeal a couple of changes the province made to the Rural Official Plan that they believe violated the city’s significant land use designation.

The proposed urban Official Plan, which was started about eight years ago in an attempt to harmonize all six former suburban municipalities’ official plans, includes such issues as commercial and mixed use, how neighbourhoods will look like, protecting open space and natural heritage areas, and accommodating transportation, particularly public transit. The city’s other planning documents, including Vision 2020, the Growth Related Integrated Development Strategy (GRIDS), and various transportation and planning master plans, and social development policies are also included in the official plan.

City planners did emphasize Ontario municipalities have to accommodate the province’s planning directives announced under its Places To Grow strategies that forces cities to accommodate 40 per cent of their growth in already urban areas. Called intensification, it could mean for Hamilton, and parts of Stoney Creek, reduced urban sprawl, and more concentrated development in the older parts of the city.

It will also mean promoting different ways on how to accommodate growth in the urban areas, such as advocating for more mixed use developments, and establishing pedestrian-friendly transportation neighbourhoods.

“This is definitely a break from the past,” said Mr. Wobschall. “But it is a hell of a mold to break.”

He pointed out Stoney Creek’s downtown business area already has to compete against the exploding big box stores in Elfrida – which is identified by city planners as a growth node in GRIDS. And local businesses will also have to compete against potential commercial development at Centennial Parkway and the South Service Road.

“I’d like to see how this will evolve, especially in the secondary plans,” he said. “I know it won’t happen when I get up in the morning tomorrow.”

Stoney Creek businessman Mike Tepsic advocated for more mixed used developments that haves commercial and retail stores on the bottom of a development, and residential units on top.

It’s an approach that has been successfully used in Burlington, along Brant Street and Lakeshore Blvd.

“It keeps people in the area,” he said.

But Mr. Tepsic, who also owns lands along Barton Street, wanted to see more commercial uses allowed along Highway 8, a major thoroughfare through Stoney Creek and Winona.

“There is a lot of land that is owned by people waiting to do something with it,” he said. “It will depend upon what developers want to do.”

Mrs. Beattie said once both the Rural Official Plan and the Urban Official Plan are merged, it will affect people’s lives in the area. Although she was concerned about the planning issues surrounding land in the Winona area that has been the subject of contention for years, she said it’s vital that residents get involved and learn about what this document will do to their lives.

“People don’t pay attention,” she said. “But then when they want to do something, they can’t because it has already been decided for them.”

Planner Kristen Maxwell said the public meetings are a chance for city officials to incorporate residents’ views into the document. A second round of public meetings will take place in April, she said.

Councillors are scheduled to debate the document at their economic and planning committee meeting in June. It is required that the Official Plan be submitted to the province for approval by the end of the month.