Hamilton councillors reverse course after opposing demolition of vacant, deteriorating homes

There's hope for owners of three vacant Hamilton houses who want to tear them down. 

After the planning committee rejected demolition requests for two homes, side-by-side, on Upper James Street, a busy commercial stretch, council reversed course.

It "makes absolutely no sense" to think council could force an owner to renovate them so they can be rented out when he has future plans to tear them down to make way for a large development, said Coun. Mike Spadafora, who was weighing in for the first time as he's not a member of the planning committee. 

These houses need "to be torn down .... instead of allowing fires, black mould and everything else," Spadafora said.

Coun. Brad Clark toured inside one of the houses leading up to the council vote Wednesday and agreed, noting the owner, Bill Johnston, president of KTJ Investments Limited, had purchased the homes in already "horrific conditions."

Clark is also not on the planning committee.

"He keeps boarding up the buildings and people keep going inside," Clark said. "They keep setting fires in the basement to stay warm and he's afraid the building is going to catch fire with people in or the floor is going to collapse and he has full liability." 

The city's current demolition bylaw requires developers to have submitted plans to build something new within two years to get a permit, says a staff report. Otherwise, they need to get special permission from councillors. 

Planning committee, where the requests go before council's final vote, was divided on demolition, with some councillors arguing developers shouldn't be allowed to tear down housing unless they have real intentions to start building. In a 5-5 split, councillors defeated the request. 

Coun. Tammy Hwang voted against demolition, but changed her mind at council after speaking with Johnston about his plans for the properties. She said he's working with a developer on a plan for a building with both commercial and residential units. 

"It is imminent," she said of the development. 

Council voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the demolition of both Upper James homes with Hwang, Nrinder Nann, Alex Wilson and Maureen Wilson switching from opposing it at the planning committee. 

Mayor Andrea Horwath and Coun. Craig Cassar were not present. 

The owners of 85 Catharine St. N. had also applied to tear a single-family house down, which was similarly denied by the planning committee.