Government Advocacy Letters & Submissions

The West End Home Builders’ Association regularly engages with municipal, provincial and federal decision-makers to advocate on behalf of the residential home building industry across Hamilton, Burlington, and Grimsby. Below is a selection of public submissions from our Government Relations team on key planning, policy, and regulatory matters. These letters represent our ongoing efforts to support smart growth, housing supply, and policies that reflect the realities of our industry.

MAY 6

2026

WE HBA Letter: Envision Grimsby: Draft Town of Grimsby Official Plan

To: Town of Grimsby Official Plan Review Staff

MAY 5

2026

WE HBA Letter: Innovation in Planning Approvals – Bloomberg Harvard Innovation Track and Bloomberg Implementation Accelerator Program Updates

To: Members of the General Issues Committee, City of Hamilton

MAY 3

2026

WE HBA Letter: City of Hamilton – Comprehensive Neighbourhood Plans Review Submission

To: Members of Panning Committee, City of Hamilton

APR 13

2026

WE HBA Letter: Fee and Process Review for Formal Consultation and Holding Removal Applications

To: Members of Panning Committee, City of Hamilton

APR 10

2026

WE HBA Letter: Draft Housing Community Improvement Plan Amendment

To: Members of the Committee of the Whole

MAR 31

2026

WE HBA Letter: Industry Input and Recommendations for Process Improvement

To: Binu Korah, Acting Director of Growth Management, City of Hamilton

MAR 31

2026

WE HBA Letter: Concerns Regarding Proposed Building Permit Fee Increases

To: Town of Grimsby Planning Department

MAR 24

2026

WE HBA Letter: Official Plan Amendments for Mayor Transit Station Areas and Protected Major Transit Station Areas

To: Mayor and Members of Planning Committee, City of Hamilton

MAR 19

2026

WE HBA Letter: Committee of Adjustment Reform

To: Arvin Prasad, General Manager, Planning and Economic Development

MAR 4

2026

WE HBA Letter: Revitalizing Hamilton’s Commercial Districts CIP Review

To: City of Hamilton

FEB 27

2026

WE HBA Letter: Support for Report PWS-05-26 – Strategic Parking Framework for Downtown

To: City of Burlington, Committee of the Whole

FEB 9

2026

WE HBA Letter: Options for the temporary elimination of Development Charges

To: Burlington, Members of the Committee of the Whole

FEB 4

2026

WE HBA Response: Conservation Halton Fee Schedule

To: Conservation Halton, Planning and Regulations

FEB 2

2026

Letter: Draft Foundation Drainage Policy Comments

To: Ashraf Hanna of the City of Hamilton

JAN 19

2026

Submission: Proposed amendment to Ontario Regulation 232/18 – Inclusionary Zoning to pause implementation in three municipalities until July 1, 2027

JAN 13

2026

Letter: Establishing an Interim Fee for Secondary Plan Official Plan Amendments Applications

To: Hamilton Members of Planning Committee

DEC 2

2025

Letter: Hamilton’s Ten-Year Revitalization Strategy

To: Hamilton Members of General Issues Committee

DEC 1

2025

Letter: Grimsby 2026 Planning and Development Fees

To: Grimsby Members of Council

NOV 21

2025

Letter: Requirements for Waterproofing Foundations for Low Rise Developments

To: Arvin Prasad and Ashraf Hanna of the City of Hamilton

NOV 13

2025

Letter: Introducing the Missing Middle and Infill Committee

To: Hamilton Members of Planning Committee

NOV 13

2025

Letter: Hamilton Comprehensive Neighbourhood Plans Review

To: Hamilton Members of Planning Committee

NOV 10

2025

Letter: Amendments to Hamilton Water Works and Sewer & Drains By-laws

To: Public Works Committee

OCT 23

2025

Letter: Urgent Follow-Up on Temporary Development Charge Reduction Implementation

To: Mayor Andrea Horvath, Marnie Cluckie, and Mike Zegarac

OCT 10

2025

Letter: Burlington Development Charges

To: City of Burlington, Members of Council

OCT 10

2025

Letter: Burlington Planning and Building Fee Reviews

To: City of Burlington, Members of Council

OCT 3

2025

Letter: Burlington Residential Zones

To: City of Burlington, Members of Committee of the Whole

SEPT 3

2025

Letter: Burlington Review of Development Charges

To: Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of Burlington

SEPT 2

2025

Letter: Reduction of Development Chargers and Development Incentives

To: Town of Grimsby Finance Department, Mayor and Members of Council

JUL 30

2025

Letter: Urgent Need for Temporary Development Charge Reductions

To: Hamilton Members of Audit, Finance and Administration Committee

JUL 23

2025

Letter: Burlington OPA 2 – Ministry File 24-OP-249954

To: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

JUL 7

2025

Letter: Inclusionary Zoning – Market Feasibility Study and Peer Review

To: Hamilton Members of Planning Committee

JUL 7

2025

Letter: Expediting Development of SCUBE Lands

To: Hamilton Members of Planning Committee

JUN 10

2025

Letter: Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment for ARUs

To: Grimsby Members of Planning and Development Committee

JUN 9

2025

Letter: Hamilton Public Notices

To: Members of Hamilton Planning Committee

JUN 1

2025

Submission: ERO 025-0462 – Complete Application

To: Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

MAY 29

2025

WE HBA Letter: Review of Development Charges and Developer Incentives

To: Hamilton Planning and Economic Development Department

MAY 22

2025

Letter: Housing Enabling Infrastructure and Stimulus Funding

To: Mayor of Burlington and Members of Council

APR 30

2025

WE HBA Letter: Review of Development Charges and Developer Incentives

To: Hamilton Members of Audit, Finance and Administration Committee

APR 9

2025

Letter to the Mayor and Members of Hamilton Council: Action on Housing to Save Jobs – NOW

To: Andrea Horwath, Mayor, City of Hamilton

APR 7

2025

Letter: Framework for Processing & Evaluating Urban Boundary Expansion Applications

To: Hamilton Members of Planning Committee

APR 4

2025

Letter: Burlington Affordable Rental Housing CIP

To: Burlington Members of Committee of the Whole

MAR 13

2025

RE: Strengthening Burlington’s Housing Market Through Bold Leadership

To: Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor, City of Burlington

MAR 12

2025

RE: Striking a Hamilton Housing and Develop Task Force / Deferral of Development Charges

To: Andrea Horwath, Mayor, City of Hamilton

JAN 23

2025

Letter of Support for Additional GO Service through Hamilton & New Grimsby GO Station

To: Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation

NOV 29

2024

WE HBA Letter: Burlington Flood Hazard Impacts and Mitigation Assessment

To: Burlington Committee of the Whole

OCT 17

2024

WE HBA Letter: Bill 185 Changes to the Formal Consultation Process

To: Members of Planning Committee Hamilton Planning and Economic Development

MAY 17

2024

WE HBA Letter: City of Burlington Development Charges 2024

To: Mayor Meed Ward and Members of Council

MAY 8

2024

WE HBA Letter: 2024 Hamilton Development Charges

To: Mayor and Members of Hamilton City Council

APR 12

2024

WE HBA Letter: 2024 Hamilton Development Charges – Recent Provincial & Federal Announcements

To: Carolyn Paton, Lindsay Gillies, and Kirk Weaver

MAR 15

2024

New Regulation to Focus Municipal Environment Assessment Requirements

To: EA Modernization Project Team

FEB 10

2024

WE HBA Letter: Burlington Housing-Focused CIP

To: Sharleen Bayovo, Senior Planner, Policy – Community Planning, City of Burlington

JAN 23

2024

WE HBA Letter: City of Hamilton Residenital Zones Project: Reimagining Neighbourhoods

To: Alana Fulford, Senior Planner, City of Hamilton | Mallory Smith, RPP, Planner, City of Hamilton | Shannon McKie, Manager, Zoning and Committee of Adjustment

DEC 1

2023

Proposed regulatory amendments to encourage greater reuse of excess soil

To: Reema Kureishy, Environmental Policy Branch

NOV 30

2023

WE HBA Letter: City of Hamilton MTSA Planning

To: Charlie Toman, City of Hamilton

NOV 13

2023

Recommended Amendments to the City of Hamilton’s Official Plan PED

To: Planning Committee, City of Hamilton

OCT 30

2023

Exploring changes to streamline the permit-by-rule framework

To: Client Services and Permissions Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

OCT 30

2023

Streamlining Environmental Permissions for Stormwater Management Under the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry

To: Client Services and Permissions Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

OCT 27

2023

WE HBA Letter: Response to Changes to the definition of an “Affordable Residential Unit” in the Development Charges Act…

To: Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing, Provincial Land Use Plans Branch

SEPT 15

2023

Eliminating the Provincial Portion of HST on New Purpose Built Rental Housing

To: Minister of Finance and Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing

MAY 8

2023

Evaluating Municipal Class Environmental Requirements for Infrastructure Projects

To: EA Modernization Project Team

MAY 6

2023

Proposed Planning Act, and Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act Changes

To: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

MAY 5

2023

Public consultation on proposed amendments… related to the new First Home Savings Accounts (FHSA).

To: Ontario Ministry of Finance

MAR 27

2023

Submission on Proposed Park Provisioning Master Plan

To: Mayor and Members of Council | Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Committee – City of Burlington

FEB 6

2023

WE HBA Letter of Support: EASE Grant Program

To: City of Hamilton, Economic Development Division

Take Advantage Of The Exclusive Benefits That Come With A WE HBA Membership