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Nanticoke Development Proposal

In February 2022, Haldimand County Council received a presentation from Empire Communities Inc. about developing a new, complete community on 4,200 acres of land in the Nanticoke area.

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Overview

The key details of Empire's proposal for Nanticoke include:

  • 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) of total land area
  • 1,010 hectares (2,500 acres) or 60% of the total land area used for residential development with the potential for 15,000 residential units and 40,000 new residents. A total of 2,000 (15%) of the new residential units would be dedicated to affordable housing
  • 690 hectares (1,700 acres) or 40% of the total land area used for employment development with the potential to bring 7,500 to 11,000 jobs
  • The potential for an additional 7,000 to 8,000 commercial retail and service jobs to support the new community, intermixed within the residential and employment areas
  • 40 hectares (100 acres) of waterfront lands to be dedicated to Haldimand County for recreational development (such as parks, trails, etc.)
  • The development of a new wastewater treatment plant which could also accommodate/service the communities of Hagersville, Jarvis and Townsend in the long term
  • The extension of natural gas infrastructure and capacity to the area

For Haldimand to consider this proposal, a Minister's Zoning Order (MZO) is required to override existing land use and zoning regulations. MZO approval would allow for the start of a comprehensive local planning review to ultimately decide if the proposal should move forward.


What is an MZO?

An MZO allows the Minister to directly zone lands for a specific purpose, without the usual public planning application process or appeal period, even if it conflicts with a municipality's official plan or zoning by-law.


Additional municipal review

If the MZO is approved, the County requires that the proposal still be subject to several local approvals and conditions before moving forward. Items for approval include:

  • A master plan informed by public consultation
  • Detailed technical studies, including land use compatibility, archaeology, environmental impact, hydrogeological, stormwater management, servicing, traffic impact and geotechnical
  • Plan(s) of subdivision
  • Refined site-specific zoning informed by the master plan details

Timeline

Find past reports and videos of Council discussions at the links noted in the timeline.

February 2022

  • Empire Communities Inc. makes a presentation to Council proposing the development of a new, complete community in the Nanticoke area on 4,200 acres of land. To achieve this new development, Empire requests going forward with a Minister's Zoning Order.
  • Staff are directed to review Empire's request and bring comments back to Council. 

March 2022

February 2023

April 2023

May 2023

Contact Us

Haldimand County
53 Thorburn Street South
Cayuga, Ontario
Canada, N0A 1E0

Phone: 905-318-5932

After hours (Road, Sewer, Water or Park & Public Facilities Emergencies): 1-888-849-7345

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