Who's who in the urban boundary debate? A look at the players involved in the Hamilton decision

This article is part of a week-long CBC Hamilton series called, "How should cities grow? Hamilton's boundary dilemma," examining urban sprawl and boundary expansion.

The City of Hamilton will once again debate on Tuesday whether to expand its urban boundary to allow for more subdivisions on the outskirts of town, or face off next year against the province, which is pushing municipalities to make plans to expand by July. 

Thousands of residents have contacted council to oppose the move, while developers and their allies say there's simply not enough room within the existing urban boundary to accommodate the 110,300 more households expected in Hamilton by 2051.

It's an issue that's been the talk of the town since earlier this year when grassroots group Stop Sprawl HamOnt began passing out signs decrying the proposed expansion, which is supported by city planning staff. 

But the issue of how much and how quickly our cities should encroach onto farmland is one that's been around for decades, says McMaster University political scientist Peter Graefe. 

"Some of this was being debated at Queen's Park in the 1970s," he told CBC Hamilton. "When Stephen Lewis was leader of the official opposition [between 1975 and 1977], the NDP pushed hard on this issue." 

He says that 20 years ago, Hamiltonians were debating whether to expand into areas such as Elfrida, which is where some of the newly-proposed expansion would also take place. 

In the early 2000s, those conversations focused around the airport district; and more recently, there's been debate about just what should be part of the Greenbelt.  

This time, the provincial government is requiring municipalities to expand to allow for construction on urban outskirts, saying it will enforce such a measure if municipalities don't do it themselves by July, 2022. 

"All around the Golden Horseshoe, we've seen suburban development continuing," said Graefe. "There's this ongoing question about where does growth go and who gets to define the area where growth goes."

While Hamilton city council and the province will ultimately decide the outcome, here's a look at the various groups trying to have their say.

It's no surprise that housing developers, especially those with land on the city's edge, would like to see further growth. In September, a group of nine homebuilders based in Hamilton, Oakville and Burlington created its own campaign to counter the "extreme idea" that the urban boundary should not expand. 

Billed as Hamilton Needs Housing, the coalition hired Toronto public relations firm Strategy Corp. to buy Facebook ads, send flyers to homes and build a petition website that says housing affordability will only get worse if these lands are not developed. The group's flyer says the 'no expansion' options would also mean 450 apartment buildings of 10 storeys or more will have to go within existing neighbourhoods to accommodate the growth projections.

"We encourage city council to adopt… a balanced approach supported by expert city planners that allows for new houses and townhouses," states the flyer.