About the area
Location
7km away from downtown Dundas (within the City of Hamilton), Pleasant View is a neighbourhood situated below the Niagara Escarpment west of Highway 6 and north of Highway 403. The lands are bounded to the east by Highway 6, to the north by Patterson Road, to the west by York Road and Valley Road and to the south by the Canadian National Rail Line and Old Guelph Road.
Ecological Significance
Pleasant View is a special and important rural area outside of Hamilton’s urban boundary. It is an extension of a natural corridor of sensitive lands, stream valley features, contiguous forest patches and scenic rural landscape forming part of the Cootes to the Escarpment Park System. This area is one of the most biologically rich areas of Canada, home to nearly a quarter of the country’s wild plants and more than 50 species at risk, and it is a component of the last intact ecological connection between Lake Ontario wetlands and the Niagara Escarpment. For these reasons as well as other important features, Pleasant View has been deemed ecologically significant.
Important Features
Features of Pleasant View and surrounding area:
- Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) Berry Tract (part of the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve) and Hopkins Tract.
- Cartwright Nature Sancturary.
- Nicholson Resource Management Area.
- York Road Acreage Conservation Area, home to the Cootes to Escarpment project.
- Significant: Woodlands, Wetlands, Valleyland, Habitat and Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest.
- RBG Cootes Paradise Sanctuary and other RBG lands and water features including the Long Pond.
Residents (Not Just People)
In addition to being home for approx. 750 people, Pleasant View is also home to:
- Endangered species.
- Threatened species.
- Special concern species.
- More than 50 species at risk.
- A quarter of Canada's wild plants.
- Other wildlife.
Endangered and threatened species are protected by the Endangered Species Act, which includes protection to their habitant.
Niagara Escarpment Plan
The Niagara Escarpment Plan is Canada's first, large-scale environmental land use plan. Section 2.2.21 of the Plan provides special provisions for Pleasant View, including restricting new uses of the lands and development. Download the Plan.
Greenbelt Plan
The Greenbelt Plan identifies a large area of permanently protected land where urbanization should not occur in order to conserve agricultural land, and the ecological and hydrological features, areas and functions the land provides (Government of Ontario 2017a). Protected land is referred to as Protected Countryside and the plan details goals, polices and implementation strategies as guidance for land management. The plan also identifies a Natural Heritage System within the Protected Countryside, which includes areas that have the most sensitive and/or significant natural features and functions.
Rural Hamilton Official Plan
The Rural Hamilton Official Plan is a guiding document for the City of Hamilton to achieve its vision for the future...a vision for a vibrant, healthy, sustainable city. This plan contains provisions to protect Pleasant View from development and new urban uses. Read the Plan.