NANTICOKE—A public referendum that would have placed a question on the 2026 municipal election ballot to gauge the level of support for Empire Communities’ Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) request for a proposed large-scale, multi-use development in Nanticoke was rejected by Haldimand Council in a 4-3 vote on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
The proposal was first brought forth by Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley at a Council meeting on September 16. The mayor read the proposed question ahead of the December vote: “Should Haldimand County Council support the Minister’s Zoning Order regarding the proposed development of 2,500 acres for residential development and 1,700 acres for employment development in Nanticoke?”
Sullivan Mahoney LLP were retained to provide their legal opinion on the matter, noting that the question does adhere to the Municipal Elections Act criteria.
While Haldimand initially submitted an MZO request to the Province in March 2022.
Bentley brought forth a motion in early 2023 to launch public consultation on the matter, leading to two public meetings in April 2023 where resident delegates spoke for or against the MZO. Those meetings ended with a 4-2 Council vote in May that maintained Council’s initial MZO support.
Hadimand’s MZO request was voided in April 2024 however, due to changes to the provincial MZO framework
At a June 2024 Council meeting, Council voted 4-3 to support proponent Empire Communities submitting their own MZO request under the new framework.
A newly elected Ward 4 Councillor Brad Adams joined Bentley in her attempts to reverse Council’s decision. At an August 26, 2025 meeting, he brought forth a petition signed by over 2,400 constituents against the proposed development and motioned to repeal County support for the MZO request, but was defeated with a 4-3 vote.
According to the staff report on adding a question to the 2026 ballot, the results would only be binding – with the municipality required to act in accordance with the result – if 50% or more of eligible voters choose the same response. If fewer than 50% of eligible voters vote and agree, the results would not be binding and the decision would remain with Council.
Ward 6 Councillor Patrick O’Neill expressed his belief that the referendum would ultimately be a “moot point” based on Haldimand’s historic voter turnout numbers. The staff report noted that the last municipal election had a 36.5% voter turnout rate.
Councillor Adams countered this, saying, “I think we’re going to get (50% voter turnout) for the first time ever. That’s how important this is.”
Adams added, “I see no downside to this. This vote is not about whether you support the MZO or oppose the MZO. It’s about one thing only: whether the people of Haldimand County should have the right to decide on something this significant.”
He continueed, “Whether we personally support the MZO or not, we cannot ignore that this issue is bigger than this council.”
Of the staff report’s estimate of $5,000 to implement the question, Adams said, “We’re not talking about big money.”
He concluded, “To deny a referendum is to tell residents that their voices on a generational land use decision don’t count. I won’t support that. We must stop acting like we know better than the people that elected us.”
Before the vote, O’Neill asked County CAO Michael Di Lullo for his opinion on any potential legal concerns that could arise from Haldimand rescinding its MZO request support after initially supporting it.
Di Lullo said, “Should Council proceed with putting a question on the ballot, we’d likely get a legal opinion and report back to Council on what the risk is to the County.”
Repeating the vote following Adams’ motion in August, Councillors O’Neill, Rob Shirton, John Metcalfe, and Dan Lawrence voted against the proposed referendum, while Bentley, Adams, and Debera McKeen voted in favour.
A ratification vote was held the following Monday, resulting in the same 4-3 outcome, following a number of delegates who spoke against the MZO. Look to the next edition of The Press on January 1, 2026 for a breakdown of those delegations.
