CALEDONIA—Micor Developments Inc. has bypassed Haldimand County’s standard staff recommendation and Council vote process, instead taking their development proposal directly to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) for a decision.
The proposal, called McClung Meadows, was brought before Council in January 2026 as an information report only.
Micor proposed 2,475 residential units, alongside a 256-bed long-term care (LTC) facility. Micor President Michael Corrado stated at the time that the company was looking to fast-track the LTC facility, promising its development would not cost taxpayers a single dollar.
Speaking with The Press recently, Corrado noted a “bona fide 50,000 bed shortfall” of LTC beds in Ontario.
“This facility would create approximately 300 new, high -paying jobs … at an average annual salary of $79,000, which would be a huge boon to Caledonia and Haldimand County,” he said.
“The sooner we get this facility up and running, the better.”
The entire four-phase development would make use of 196 acres of land between 206 McClung Road and 390 Haldimand Road 66, falling within Caledonia’s urban boundary on land designated for residential use.
The plan includes 759 detached homes, 128 semi-detached homes, 530 townhouses, 508 apartments, and 550 retirement community units, with 1,920 sq. m. for commercial retail space, land for a new school, 10 acres for open space and parks, a 15-acre stormwater management facility, and an 8.6-acre natural heritage system.
At the January presentation, Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley said she had “pages” of concerns with the proposal, including sewer capacity, the need for “significant and costly expansion” to support it, and increased traffic.
“I can see your vision of LTC, and yes we do need these beds desperately, but we can’t privately service this,” she said.
In January, Councillor Dan Lawrence called the project area’s roads a “disaster right now,” noting he needed road reconstruction plans in place before supporting new development.
While the information report did not include any staff recommendations and did not task Council with voting to support or deny the project, Bentley and Councillors Brad Adams and Debera McKeen made the unusual decision to vote against accepting the report as information, which is typical for such reports.
With Councillors Lawrence, Rob Shirton, and John Metcalfe voting to accept the report as information, and with Councillor Patrick O’Neill absent, the 3-3 tie resulted in Council rejecting receipt of the information report.
“If we refuse to receive this, it says you’re not open to hearing any information,” said Lawrence at the time.
Bentley replied, “Yeah, it’s baffling I suppose, but when … we vote in favour of the (information) report, then we get chastised for voting in favour of it. People assume we’re voting in favour of the development.”
The Press asked Haldimand County for a record of information reports being previously rejected, but the County was unable to provide such data.
Now, five months after that vote, the developer has taken an unusual step of its own, appealing directly to the OLT to determine if the proposal should proceed.
Micor is seeking to “permit the development of a subdivision, including a mix of residential types, commercial space, school, a park and parkettes, a natural heritage system, and stormwater management facility,” according to the OLT listing.
A case management conference will be heard on August 6 to determine how the case will proceed, including establishing a date and duration for the hearing, and exploring the possibility of settlement and mediation.
Responding to questions from The Press, Corrado dismissed the idea that he is attempting to bypass local decision-makers, stating it’s “all about timing” in relation to the upcoming municipal election.
“City/town councils seem somewhat reluctant to make decisions on mid- to large-sized projects and would rather defer the vote until after the election and into 2027,” he said.
“We felt that McClung Meadows is an important, complete community with the perfect mix of housing types, a seniors’ campus, and ample parkland, and we need to get these types of complete communities on stream sooner than later as we have been in a housing crisis for years and still are,” he continued.
As for the concerns surrounding infrastructure, Corrado replied, “Infrastructure, traffic, wastewater capacity, etc. are pre-existing issues that were already there based on the 15 years of new housing development all around us. The future infrastructure required will naturally grow and expand in sync with the growth of this development, as is the norm in every new community.”
He said the appeal to OLT is in no way an indicator that the developer won’t work collaboratively with Haldimand on the proposal or future projects.
“We have always worked collaboratively with Haldimand County and will continue to as we have a very large commitment there, which we want to make a success and we know the County wants it successful as well,” he said.
General Manager of Development Services Mike Evers said County staff had already put in substantial work on a technical review of the proposal in preparation of a future Council recommendation.
“Staff had completed the primary assessment and were continuing to work through the remaining evaluation process, including peer review and technical modelling to confirm and refine the findings,” said Evers.
Despite the cost of that completed work, “the application process is effectively ‘paused’ on our end – meaning any detailed reviews of technical submissions, studies, etc. are not currently taking place.”
The appeal will generate new work for staff – and new costs for Haldimand taxpayers.
“There is still significant staff work associated with the file in the form of submission of the appeal record, preparing any required hearing notices, and preparing for all matters pertaining to the hearing itself – affidavits, evidence briefs, etc.,” said Evers. “External legal counsel must be secured to assist in preparing for the hearing and to represent the County’s position at the hearing. For more complex applications with a variety of technical assessments that extend beyond County expertise, outside experts may need to be retained to provide evidence.”
Evers noted developers bypassing the local process in favour of the OLT “happens very infrequently.”
“While it’s a right that all developers have (i.e. to appeal if a decision is not made within 120 days), it’s rare for them to take this step,” he said.
Stay tuned to The Press for more details on this story as they develop.
