As Province Considers Reversing Controversial Changes, Ancaster Developer Goes to OLT over Site Plan – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 7, 2023
The owners of an Ancaster property given special planning permissions, word for word, by the Doug Ford government have filed a rare Site Plan development appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
The owners of 392-412 Wilson Street East & 15 Lorne Avenue in Ancaster want the OLT to force the City to issue permits to enable them to begin work on the site.
The land is owned by developers Sergio Manchia and Frank Spallacci. Their planner is Matt Johnson, co-principal of Urban Solutions. Manchia is also a co-principal of Urban Solutions.
Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner found Manchia purchased four tickets to the “stag-and-doe” party for Premier Doug Ford’s daughter. He gave the tickets to Johnson, who reported only giving a quick hello to the Premier.
Manchia and Premier Doug Ford met in September 2021 to discuss. Manchia is a central figure in the Ontario Integrity Commissioners’ report regarding the Greenbelt lands removal.
With this background, Hamilton City Council will discuss a request from the Ancaster Village Heritage Community to endorse a letter the AVHC sent to Premier Ford calling for reversing the planning changes granted to Manchia and Spallacci.
Following the planning changes, their corporation, Wilson St. Ancaster Inc., gained an OLT settlement ruling enforcing the new rules to allow them to construct an eight-storey mixed-use development containing 118 residential units.
The ruling was released on September 19.
On October 23, Premier Ford reserved the urban boundary expansion his government imposed on Hamilton and announced a new review of provincial changes to Urban Hamilton Official Plan.
The review includes the changes made to allow the Wilson Street development.
TPR has requested the OLT appeal file.