Council wasn't for intensification until they got the results of the poll back (and even then, the likes of Ferguson continue to be aghast at the idea of not being in the pockets of suburban developers).
We can see that with the kneejerk response to Bill 109, and the fact that only one Secondary Housing Unit has been approved by the city so far, the rest denied for what seem like vague reasons that won't hold up at OLT.
Back in the 90s they had a plan called "Vision 2020" that painted a dense, people-friendly Hamilton.
Now that 2020 has come and gone, the sprawl is crazy, downtown dead, transit gutted, and commuting by bike a near impossibility unless you're in the west end.
Some fun Hamilton transit facts: 1. There's an abandoned subway station underneath downtown. 2. There used to be a Funicular going up and down the escarpment. 3. When I was a kid many of the buses were electric, with overhead lines criss-crossing the streets like other cities have for trams.