Hamilton’s Chief Planner Steve Robichaud says the lands at 290 Barton Street West were zoned for residential town homes during the 1990s and the sales trailer that appeared on site during the weekend is permitted.
The lands were sold in 1997 by CN Railway to a brownfield developer and rezoned from industrial to residential as a condition of sale.
In 2002, Council approved a townhouse development on the site. (Here’s the 2002 staff report)
The site is zoned for townhouses or maisonettes of up to 11 metres (approximately 3 stories) height. Up to 17 townhouse dwelling units were permitted in the 2002 approval.
Robichaud says the developer is now moving forward with the zoning approved on the site which is east of Magill, west of Queen, with great views over the West Harbour.
The following is the paragraph related to the site in the Barton-Tiffany Urban Design Study approved by Council in September.

290 Barton Street West north of Magill Street
These residential lands are located opposite and adjacent to existing two-storey single family dwellings. Accordingly, it is recommended that the building heights be reduced from five storeys to three storeys.
This height will create a better transition to the existing neighbourhood. This input was received by the Strathcona Community Council through various consultations with the Public and Focus Group.
Under the Setting Sail Secondary Plan, the policies allows for a maximum building height of five stories. The subject lands have a dual zoning due to previous Zoning approvals by the landowner. The west portion of the subject land is zoned “RT-20/ S-1478” (Townhouse-Maisonette) District, Modified, which permits townhouse dwellings and maisonette dwellings of up to 11 m, or approximately three storeys.
The east portion of the subject land is zoned “L-MR-1” (Planned Development) District, which permits primarily existing uses. Under the district zone provisions, the lands will be required to be rezoned to permit future residential development, and would be limited to townhouses, maisonettes, and multiple dwellings under the following districts: “DE”, “DE-2”, “DE-3”, “E-2”, “RT-10“, “RT-20”, and the “RT-30”.
The maximum permitted height within the Zoning Districts range from three storeys
to eight storeys.