140 Garner Road E - The Garner Marsh

Headwater of Ancaster Creek and Sherman Falls

OLT Case status here

Jan 28 2026 update

Thanks to everyone who wrote to City Hall in defence of the Garner Marsh. On January 13 City Legal Staff briefed Hamilton’s Planning committee in a private, ‘in camera’ session about the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) proceedings for the Garner Marsh at 140 Garner Rd E. Although we do not know what the City has negotiated with the land owner, we do know that the OLT hearing has now been shortened from 9 days to 5. The hearing that was set to begin on February 17 will now start on February 23 (according to the OLT Case Status page). We'll send a reminder and link so you can watch the online hearing closer to that date.

Jan 13 2026 update

On Tuesday January 13, 2026 City Legal Staff briefed Hamilton’s Planning committee in a private, ‘in camera’ session about the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) proceedings for the Garner Marsh at 140 Garner Rd E. In camera closed door meetings are routine and occur at most Planning Committee meetings when legal decisions must be made. In camera agendas are never published and available to the public but we fear that the purpose of item 12.1 on the agenda could be for Legal Staff to seek approval from the Planning Committee for a settlement that they have negotiated with the developer.

Although we do not know what the City has negotiated with the land owner, the developer's submitted proposal from 2021 proposes a 'wetland block' area that is smaller than the Garner Marsh and would mean about half of it would be paved for warehouses. (See page 110 of the EIS) Additional risks are removal of Butternuts, American Chestnuts and hedgerows, as well as minimal buffers provided for the woodlot to the south of the property.

• Learn about the developer’s plans by watching the short and engaging video: Follow the Flow of Ancaster Creek

• Read the reports submitted to the City by the developers (submission 2) here (EIS is the Environmental Impact Study)

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Concerns:

• The application appears to run contrary to the intent of the AEGD Secondary Plan where the area is identified 18 times as an “Eco-Industrial” Business Park based on principles to:

  “Protect and integrate provincially and municipally significant natural features, such as streams, valley lands, wetlands, mature trees and forests into the employment district’s development, implement provincial policy and meet municipal policy”

  “Design with nature by protecting streams, mature trees, wetlands, significant habitat and integrate topography into developments”

  “Develop in a manner that is sensitive to the natural environment”

  "Integrate the open space system with the Greenbelt and other natural areas." “Integrate nature into the public realm by retaining natural areas for use as buffers, open space, and trail systems”

  “Integrate nature into the public realm by retaining natural areas for use as buffers, open space, and trail systems”

• The Garner Marsh is fed by underground springs which would make successful ‘relocation’ of the marsh impossible and increase risk of downstream flooding.

• Approval would destroy the headwater of Ancaster creek, a rare cold water creek which supports specialized species adapted to cold water conditions.

• Approval would mean the loss of many hundreds of mature trees, of hedgerows wildlife linkages, of biodiversity, and destruction of habitat for species at risk, all of which run contrary to the City’s plan to increase the Urban Forest Canopy and increase biodiversity through the City’s new Biodiversity Action Plan.

• The Garner Marsh is identified as the headwater source of the Ancaster Creek subwatershed, a rare ‘cold water system’ that supports biodiversity and species which can only survive in a cold water environment.

• The Hamilton Conservation Authority turned down this application twice - once when the proponent applied for a permit; and again when the HCA decided against an offsetting policy that would allow such developments. The OLT should consider the HCA’s past permit denial in this case.

• The Ancaster Creek subwatershed has already lost 97% of its wetlands.

Garner Marsh Natural Features

• The Garner Marsh is listed on provincial mapping and has been identified by the HCA as a ‘locally significant wetland’. The Urban Hamilton Official Plan states that Natural Heritage System wetlands will be protected as wetlands are defined as “Core Areas”. The Garner Marsh is situated over a Highly Vulnerable Aquifer and groundwater in this area is highly sensitive.

• There are many creatures living in the marsh and the Environmental Impact Assessment found American toads in such abundance that their calls were listed as “Code 3 - Full chorus”.

• Although Phragmites is present in the Marsh, the dominant species is Cattail. Phragmites is invasive but its presence is controllable and is by no means a reason to destroy the Marsh.

• The Marsh is located in a ‘significant groundwater recharge area’ meaning the water is subsurface. The Marsh is fed by an underground spring and has no open water that would attract waterfowl; desirable due to it’s proximity to the Hamilton Airport.

• The Marsh, agricultural fields and hedgerows around it are the most biodiverse location in this area which is directly attributed to the Marsh itself being both a high quality food and water source, and habitat. The bird count at this Marsh eclipses that of the protected Royal Botanical Gardens. Identified at the Marsh were multiple species and more than 67 species of birds.

• Also present are multiple species of amphibians, dragonflies and reptiles, as well as white-tailed deer and eastern cottontail. Additionally, the land surrounding the Marsh supports salamanders, foxes, coyotes, bats.. There were three nationally significant species, three provincially significant species and eight locally significant species identified at the Marsh.

• It supports species both in the Marsh itself and downstream that rely on this characteristic and the coldwater creek (Ancaster Creek) whose source is here. Ancaster Creek is one of the few coldwater creeks in the area, supporting coldwater aquatic life downstream such as brown trout.

• The Garner Marsh is an important connection within the surrounding countryside via a hydro corridor to the property which is identified as a major linkage and “core feature” of the natural heritage system mapping on Hamilton’s Official Plan. Additionally, there are hedgerows and thickets all around the Marsh as well as a large woodlot at the back of the property in proximity to other core natural areas and linkages, providing a valuable connection to other natural heritage features in the headwaters.

At-risk or locally important species found at the Garner Marsh include:

• Wood Thrush (Br, U, L) COSEWIC status: THREATENED; SARO status: SPECIAL CONCERN

• Eastern Wood Pewee (Br, L) COSEWIC status: SPECIAL CONCERN; SARO status: SPECIAL CONCERN

• Monarch Butterfly - designated as ENDANGERED on COSEWIC, and SPECIAL CONCERN on SARO

• American Chestnut located in woodlot adjacent to the Marsh - COSEWIC status: ENDANGERED; SARO status: ENDANGERED

• Blandings Turtle located on Garner Road adjacent to the Marsh in 2018. COSEWIC status: ENDANGERED; SARO STATUS: THREATENED

• Feeding ground for maternal bat colonies who inhabit the adjacent woodlot.

• Tundra Swan (M) (230 count) Migrants who stop and stage on this property every March on their migration

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Past updates

Nov 2025 update

The Garner Marsh is once again under threat of being paved over with a 12 day Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing that was scheduled to begin on Feb. 17th, 2026. Instead, on Jan 13, 2026 the City’s Planning Committee will decide whether or not approve a negotiated settlement with the landowner.

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Sep 2025 update: The landowner’s application for a permit to move the Marsh has not yet been approved or denied by the HCA but in the meantime they have decided to move ahead with their second case, an appeal against the City of Hamilton for non-decision of their warehouse development. ‘Non-decision’ usually arises when the parties reach an impasse or the City/CA has requested more, or updated studies, and the applicant does not supply them. When 120 days have passed since their application submission, landowners may then appeal to the OLT citing non-decision.

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April 2025 update: The landowner has withdrawn their 2021 OLT application to ‘move’ the Marsh and, on Nov 6, 2024, submitted a new application to the HCA for 'partial relocation' of the Marsh. As of April 2025, that application has been deemed incomplete by the HCA and sent back to the landowners twice for revision. Once the application is deemed complete, HCA will have 90 days to make a decision regarding the permit application. If HCA fails to make a decision within 90 days or refuses the permit application, the landowners can appeal again to the OLT.