Official Plan & Zoning By-law

GRIDS 2 and Municipal Comprehensive Review

The City of Hamilton is updating its Growth Management Strategy, known as GRIDS 2. The City will also be completing a Municipal Comprehensive Review concurrently with GRIDS 2.

What is GRIDS?

In 2006, City Council approved the first Growth Related Integrated Development Strategy (GRIDS) (PDF, 28 MB). GRIDS was an integrated planning process that identified a broad land use structure, associated infrastructure, economic development strategy and financial implications for growth options to serve Hamilton for 30 years. GRIDS planned for growth up to 2031. 

GRIDS needs to be updated to plan for the next 10 years of growth, to 2041. This update will be known as GRIDS 2.

The Province of Ontario provides population and employment growth forecasts for Hamilton through the  Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Logo for the GRIDS 2 project

The growth forecasts for Hamilton between 2031 and 2041 are:

An increase of 100,000 people for a total population of 780,000 people

An increase of 40,000 jobs for a total employment of 350,000 jobs

GRIDS 2 will plan for how and where this additional population and employment growth can be accommodated, and will determine the impact on the Infrastructure Master Plans (Water / Wastewater, Stormwater, Transportation).

What is the Municipal Comprehensive Review?

A municipal comprehensive review (MCR) is a requirement of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) at the time of an Official Plan review, and must be completed prior to any expansion of the urban boundary. The MCR is the process by which the City brings its Official Plans into conformity with updated Provincial plans.

Many of the studies that are required as part of the MCR are also required as part of GRIDS 2. Therefore, the City has determined that it is appropriate to combine GRIDS 2 and the MCR into one integrated process, resulting in a transparent and straightforward process in which to involve stakeholders and citizens.

One component of the MCR is the Employment Land Review which is currently underway.

Staff reports

Project timeline

Staff are reviewing recently released information from the Province on a proposed Amendment 1 to the Provincial Growth Plan and an update to the Land Needs Assessment Methodology to determine the impact of these proposed changes on the GRIDS 2 / MCR project timeline. Stay tuned to this page for project updates. If you would like to be added to the project mailing list and be notified of project updates, please send your contact information to [email protected].

Consultation update

  • The next round of public consultation is anticipated early 2021.
  • The second round of open houses were held November 26 & 28, December 2 & 4, 2019.
  • Council workshop - October 21, 2019. This is an information sharing session which will provide an overview of GRIDS and GRIDS 2, a discussion on intensification and density, an explanation of land needs assessment, and a project update. No decisions or recommendations are anticipated from this workshop. The workshop is being held in Council Chambers and is open to the public, and will be livestreamed for public viewing. Council Workshop Presentation (PDF, 7 MB)

Open House
Held May 28, 30 & June 6, 2018
Provided an overview of the GRIDS 2 and MCR project, discussed how growth in the city has occurred in recent years and identifyied strengths and opportunities for change in our land use structure. First Round Consultation Summary Report (PDF, 15 MB)

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Contact us

Heather Travis
City Hall, 4th floor
Phone: 905-546-2424 ext. 4168
​Email: [email protected]

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