Major Transit Station Areas

Staff Report PL-03-24 now available

Staff report PL-03-24: Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) Official Plan Amendment 2 and Community Planning Permit By-law and Statutory Public Meeting release is now available online. The staff report provides an overview of the MTSA plans, discussion on staff recommendations and a summary of community engagement undertaken and how it informed the City's approach. The report can be found in the Agenda Meeting Package for the June 11th, 2024 Committee of the Whole Statutory Public Meeting at www.burlington.ca/calendar.

Tell us what you think:

Speak at the upcoming Statutory Public Meeting on Tuesday, June 11th, 2024 at 9:30 AM.

• Pre-register to speak by noon Monday, June 10th, 2024 by:
  1. Filling out the form at www.burlington.ca/delegation
  2. submitting a written request by email to the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@burlington.ca or
  3. calling 905-335-7600, ext. 7481;

OR Register during the Statutory Public Meeting by emailing clerks@burlington.ca if you are attending virtually, and follow the instructions provided at the meeting if attending in person.

Send your comment to Jo-Anne Rudy, Committee Clerk at Jo-Anne.Rudy@burlington.ca by noon Monday, June 10, 2024 if you wish for it to be distributed and reviewed by all members of the Committee in advance of the Statutory Public Meeting on Tuesday, June 11th, 2024.

The City of Burlington is recommending an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and a Community Planning Permit (CPP) By-law that will affect lands within the City's three Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs): Downtown Burlington Urban Growth Centre/Burlington GO, Aldershot GO and Appleby GO.

Together, the OPA and CPP By-law establish a CPP system that identifies and implements a vision for the MTSAs to redevelop into complete communities that will accommodate a significant share of the City's future population and job growth in a mixed-use format that is transit-supportive, safe, and respectful of surrounding areas. The CPP system will transform how development is assessed and approved in the MTSAs.

You are invited to:

• Review the recommended Official Plan Amendment and Community Planning Permit By-law (available May 21, 2024)
• Review the staff recommendation report (available May 31, 2024)

The recommendation report and a discussion of staff's Official Plan Amendment and Community Planning Permit By-law recommendations will be posted on the MTSA project web page on May 31, 2024. You can also search for the June 11 Statutory meeting date for the Committee of the Whole.

Speak at the hybrid (both in person at 426 Brant St Council Chambers and virtual) Statutory Public Meeting on June 11, 2024 at 9:30 AM. There are two options:

Pre-register to speak by noon on Monday, June 10. You may pre-register by:

• filling out the delegation request form
• submitting a written request by email to the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@burlington.ca or
• calling 905-335-7600, ext. 7481

Speak with City Planning Staff:

The MTSA team continues to set aside time every Tuesday and Thursday from 2-3:00 pm to accommodate any one-on-one meeting requests leading up to June 11. Email mtsa@burlington.ca to schedule a meeting.

A formal Notice of Statutory Public Meeting and Recommendation Report will be mailed to all owners and tenants within 120m of the MTSAs. The notice contains a general overview of the recommended amendment and by-law.

Share your Written Comments:

Written comments about the recommended OPA and CPP By-law can be emailed to Jo-Anne Rudy, Committee Clerk at Jo-Anne.Rudy@burlington.ca or by mail to Community Planning Department, PO Box 5023, 426 Brant St, Burlington, ON, L7R 3Z6. Written comments are to be submitted no later than noon on June 10, 2024.

The MTSA project team is continuing to work through the feedback received on the draft Official Plan Amendment and Community Planning Permit System By-law that was released for public engagement in October 2023.

Key themes of the feedback received were:

• Land Use Compatibility: Feedback received included ensuring that existing and future employment uses continue to be allowed in the Urban Employment precinct, while mitigating land use compatibility impacts associated with the introduction of new sensitive uses such as residential. The feedback also highlighted the need for a clear framework for assessing land use compatibility through a Community Planning Permit application.

• Housing Unit Type and Tenure: Feedback received raised concerns about the feasibility of achieving the 3-bedroom unit target and providing a range of tenures, and the impacts of these requirements on housing affordability.

• Parking Standards: Submissions noted that parking requirements are a barrier to housing affordability and, as a result, there will likely be future requests for reductions to the minimum parking rates in the draft Community Planning Permit By-law. Submissions also highlighted the need for further clarity on the ability for variations to the parking standards and provisions.

• Services, Facilities, and Matters: Submissions raised concerns around the three classes of permit applications, the City’s ability to acquire services, facilities and matters, and its impacts on housing affordability and industry proformas.

• Structure and Clarity: Submissions highlighted a lack of clarity in the structure of permit classes and the need to allow for flexibility in the regulations and development standards on a site-specific basis, and a request for further understanding of the Community Planning Permit application process.

As highlighted above, one of the major themes of the feedback received is about the framework for the provision of services, facilities and matters that will support the City in achieving its housing and community objectives over time as the City sees the redevelopment of these key areas. Recognizing that there is a need for additional work and analysis to support resolving that feedback, the Statutory Public Meeting and Recommendation Report is now targeted for June 2024.

Staff continue to be available every Tuesday and Thursday from 2-3 pm for Talk to a Planner meetings, and will continue to update this project webpage with timing information and future engagement opportunities leading up to June. Email mtsa@burlington.ca if you would like to Talk to a Planner.

In November, staff extended the deadline for comments on the draft Official Plan Amendment and Community Planning Permit System following the October 31, 2023 Statutory Public Meeting. City staff continue to review and consider the feedback received. In order to allow staff time to work through the volume of feedback, staff are now targeting bringing forward a Recommendation Report to Council for adoption of the OPA and CPP By-law later in the spring. Sign up to this project page to receive notifications of updates.

Staff continue to be available to answer any questions about the project and continue to set aside time every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 – 3pm for Talk to a Planner meetings. Email mtsa@burlington.ca if you have any questions or would like to Talk to a Planner.

Thank you to all who spoke at the Statutory Public Meeting or provided written comments on the draft Official Plan Amendment and Community Planning Permit By-law. Following the meeting, on November 14, 2023, City Council directed staff to consider the feedback received at the public meeting before bringing forward a staff report recommending adoption of the OPA and CPP By-law.

In order to ensure everyone has time to provide comments and for staff to properly consider all of the feedback received, staff have extended the deadline for comments. Comments received by Monday December 4, 2023 will be used to inform staff’s recommendation to Council now targeted for Q1 2024.

City staff continue to engage on the proposed Official Plan Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and proposed Community Planning Permit (CPP) By-law and have extended the deadline to receive comments by Monday, December 4th, 2023.

Submit your comments to the MTSA team at mtsa@burlington.ca or Community Planning Department, P.O. Box 5013, 426 Brant Street, Burlington, ON L7R 3Z6 by Monday, December 4.

Feedback received by December 4, 2023 will be used to inform staff’s recommended OPA and CPP By-law.

Staff report PL-59-23: Proposed Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and Draft Community Planning Permit (CPP) By-law public release is now available online. The report can be found in the Agenda Meeting Package for the October 31^st, 2023 Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility meeting at www.burlington.ca/calendar.

Tell us what you think:

1. Speak at the upcoming Statutory Public Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023.

• Pre-register to speak by noon Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 by:
  • Filling out the form at www.burlington.ca/delegation
  • Emailing the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@burlington.ca
  • Calling 905-335-7600 ext. 7481

OR register during the meeting by emailing clerks@burlington.ca if you are attending virtually, and follow the instructions provided at the meeting if attending in person.

2. Send your comments to Jo-Anne Rudy, Committee Clerk at Jo-Anne.Rudy@burlington.ca by noon Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 if you wish for it to be distributed and reviewed by all members of the Committee in advance of the Statutory Public Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023.

3. Write to the MTSA team by November 7, 2023 at mtsa@burlington.ca or Community Planning Department, P.O. Box 5013, 426 Brant Street, Burlington, ON L7R 3Z6

Feedback received at the Statutory Public Meeting on Oct. 31, 2023 and written comments received by November 7, 2023 will be used to inform staff’s recommended OPA and CPP By-law.

The recording from the October 12, 2023 Virtual Open House is now available. To access Closed Captioning, click onto the icon that says CC.

A list of all the Question and Answers, as well as the polling results are now available.

Thank you to all those who were able to join us for the virtual open house on the evening of October 12, 2023. The presentation is now available.

A recording of the virtual open house as well as a record of Question and Answers from the meeting will be posted to this project page once available.