Elfrida eyed for urban population boom

Hamilton studying how to handle growth

For now, it’s a rural area with quiet country lots, old farm homes and fields of cash crops like wheat, beans, corn and soybeans.

But with Hamilton’s population projected to hit 660,000 by 2031, Elfrida could be transformed into an urban community of 30,000 with new homes, roads and water and sewer infrastructure.

Mel Switzer, a retired f armer, worries that some of the area’s best farmland could be lost to development.

Switzer said excellent cash crop lands can be found within the Elfrida growth area, especially between Twenty Mile Creek and the hydro right-of-way, and east of First Road East.

“We’re trying to save that as long as we can,” said Switzer, who owns farmland outside the study area in Binbrook.

The city recently held a series of public meetings examining the Elfrida growth area and sub-watershed study.

Joe Nethery, senior project manager at WSP Canada, said planners are looking for public input on how to manage growth in the area. The rural study area, south and east of the corner of Rymal Road and Upper Centennial Parkway, includes more than 1,000 hectares.

“What we have been asked to do as a team is to develop a future ur- ban vision for the entirety of this study area,” Nethery said at the June 21 meeting. “If these lands do develop as urban uses, what would that look like?”

Nethery said the study could help identify permitted uses on some of the lands. Plans will also be shaped by the area’s master plans for transportation as well as water and waste-water servicing.

While the project study area is primarily agricultural, Nethery said the Elfrida area already has a strong commercial presence along Upper Centennial and Rymal that could support a community of 30,000.

Christine Newbold, the city’s manager of community planning and geographic information systems, said the Elfrida growth study will help to identify opportunities for appropriate development.

“We study the whole area because we need to understand the conditions, and we’ll have to make a decision through the analysis as where best within that study area will we grow to 2031,” said Newbold.

Along with the Elfrida growth area study, the city is conducting a sub-watershed study aimed at protecting and enhancing the environment within the Elfrida study area limits, as well as downstream.

The study area spans five subwatersheds, including Upper Davis Creek, Hannon Creek, Twenty Mile Creek, Sinkhole Creek and Stoney Creek.