To: Most Reverend Joseph Dabrowski, C.S.M.A., Bishop of Hamilton, and the Chancery Office of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton

From: Faithful Parishioners, Families, and Community Members of Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Agnes, and St. Louis Parishes 

The Problem: The City of Waterloo has unilaterally targeted active Catholic church properties under its proposed Initiative 9 zoning amendment. Without direct consultation, site-specific infrastructure studies, or proper statutory notice under the Planning Act, the City is attempting to apply blanket multi-unit residential zoning (RMU-20) and holding provisions across three active local parishes:

• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (173 Lourdes Street, Waterloo, Ontario)
• St. Agnes Catholic Church (75 Bluevale Street North, Waterloo, Ontario)
• St. Louis Catholic Church (53 Allen Street East, Waterloo, ON)

We, the undersigned parishioners and community members, stand firmly alongside our local parish leadership. We respectfully call upon the Diocese of Hamilton to exercise its formal authority to demand the immediate, total removal of these three properties from Initiative 9.

Key Realities & Concerns

1. The Diocese & the Parish Communities Did Not Request This Zoning - Our parishes did not seek inclusion on this rezoning list. The City of Waterloo arbitrarily selected these active parish sites without prior consultation or consent from the Diocese or local congregations.

2. The City's False Narrative vs. Reality: "Unused Land" is Literally Church Parking Lots - The City is actively telling the general public that Initiative 9 targets "unused," "underutilized," or "vacant" land belonging to declining churches. This is a complete misrepresentation. At each and every one of the three properties—Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Agnes, and St. Louis—the land designated for high-density development is literally the active church parking lots:

• Our Lady of Lourdes: The targeted footprint is the primary staff parking lot for the adjacent Catholic elementary school, which parishioners also rely on for weekend Mass and parish events.
• St. Agnes: The targeted footprint is the main active parking lot relied upon daily for congregants attending liturgy, funeral services, and parish ministry programs. The parking lot is also directly adjacent to the school yard of St. Agnes Elementary School, and directly across from the drop-off area for Bluevale Collegiate Secondary School. 
• St. Louis: The targeted footprint is the church's essential parking facility serving both the parish community and local neighbourhood access.

Branding these active parking lots as "unused" misleads the public. Eliminating parking eliminates the vital operational infrastructure that our churches and schools require to function safely.

3. Zero Intent to Sell & The Threat of Future Expropriation - Diocesan leadership has made it clear: under no circumstances are these parish lands for sale, whether for private development or affordable housing. While the City markets Initiative 9 under the guise of housing creation, granting as-of-right high-density zoning on unsold church land sets a dangerous precedent. Pre-zoning this property as "residential" makes it significantly easier for the municipal government or public authorities to attempt potentially expropriation down the road—using legal powers to forcibly purchase private church land against the owner's will under the claim that the land was already designated for housing. This concern is also shared by owners of other churches (non-Catholic) who have also been placed on the Initiative 9 list. 

4. Insulting Narrative of "Dwindling & Disconnected" Communities - To justify bypassing standard planning procedures and studies, municipal staff have repeatedly, intentionally described the local churches in question as "dwindling, declining, and disconnected from their communities." Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Agnes, and St. Louis are active, thriving faith communities that remain deeply and actively integrated into the educational, spiritual, and charitable life of Waterloo.

5. Severe Procedural Failures & Unstudied Density - Initiative 9 threatens to introduce up to 450 high-density bedrooms/units across these parish sites without any site-specific assessments regarding traffic safety, water table impacts, sewage capacity, or emergency service access. Furthermore, the process has been marred by selective notice delivery (letters postmarked late or never delivered to neighboring residents), a lack of required physical Planning Act signage, and repeated failures to notify the public of opportunities to provide feedback before the City Council votes— these issues are currently under investigation by the Provincial Ombudsman.

What We Are Requesting of the Diocese of Hamilton

We respectfully ask the Chancery and Diocesan leadership to:

• Issue an Official Demand for Removal: Formally submit a binding request to Waterloo City Council and City Staff demanding the complete removal of Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Agnes, and St. Louis from Initiative 9 prior to any final council vote.
• Reaffirm Sacred & Operational Trust: Reiterate publicly to the municipality that Diocesan lands remain dedicated strictly to parish ministry, Catholic education, and community worship, rejecting arbitrary municipal holding provisions.
• Demand an Opt-In Framework: Insist that the City of Waterloo respect property rights by requiring an explicit, voluntary Opt-In process as was advertised for this initiative, for all future planning initiatives, rather than applying blanket rezoning across faith-based properties without consent.

Sign the Petition
By signing below, I confirm that I am a parishioner, local Catholic school family member, or supporter of the Waterloo Catholic community, and I support the Diocese of Hamilton in taking direct action to remove Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Agnes, and St. Louis from Initiative 9.