Developer proposal to cut down 300-year-old trees to build Ancaster subdivision gets shot down

Members of City Council were told that an area of about five and a half acres on Hamilton Drive in Ancaster could be home to foxes, snakes, birds, endangered bat species, and trees up to 300 years old.

But a developer wants to build 17 detached houses on the site, and cut down 632 of the trees.

Conservationists like Katie Krelove want to protect the area, which she says “includes animals and species that are listed as endangered provincially.”

Her list also noted the presence of endangered tree species like American Chestnut and Butternut trees.

Councillors on Hamilton’s city planning committee have received a string of letters from the public, saying “no to development that further decimates our Natural Heritage System,” “destroying trees for any other reason than safety is an offence,” and the proposal “makes us look like we don’t care one bit about the world or our children’s future.”

Ancaster Councillor Craig Cassar opposed the housing proposal.

“It would put some bat species at risk and remove all the benefits that those trees provide – climate mitigation, water absorption, cooling,” he said.

“We don’t need to clear-cut a forest in order to build some homes.”

Cassar added that the proposed detached houses wouldn’t do anything to help Hamilton’s housing crisis.

“These were going to be large estate lots that were not going to be affordable,” he said.

In the end, the council voted down the development proposal.

“We need to find a way to provide housing, and also do it in a way that’s sensitive to endangered species and heritage trees,” Ted McMeekin, Ward 15 Councillor said.

Councillor Jeff Beattie highlighted the fact that “trees of that caliber and size, you don’t come across them very often.”

But this battle might not be over. The councillors were warned that the city may have to defend this decision, as the developer can still appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

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