Oakville Council Meeting: Commercial Rezoning, Affordable Housing, and Heritage Conservation

Oakville council reviewed a proposed commercial rezoning at 580 Burloak Drive, approved inclusionary zoning enabling policies tied to affordable housing in protected major transit station areas, considered Official Plan Amendment 338 implementing the North Oakville East Commercial Study, and unanimously endorsed a provincial heritage housing grant proposal. The meeting also surfaced specific concerns about traffic movements, lighting, buffering, and neighbourhood connections for the Burloak Drive application, which did not receive a final decision.

Topics Discussed

1. 580 Burloak Drive commercial rezoning

Council reviewed a zoning bylaw amendment application by Thieve Investments Inc. for 580 Burloak Drive at Great Lakes Boulevard. The proposal is for two two-storey commercial buildings with retail, restaurant and service commercial uses at grade and office or medical office uses on the second floor. Planning consultant Arlene Bulmer said, "So in summary we're proposing two two-story commercial buildings retail restaurant and service commercial uses at grade with offices or medical offices on the second floor."

The site is about 7,000 square metres and would include 92 parking spaces, four accessible spaces and eight bicycle parking spaces. The applicant is seeking to rezone the property from E2 to E4 to permit retail and service commercial establishments.

Council also heard that the plan includes two restricted-access driveways on Burloak Drive and no direct connection to the adjacent neighbourhood. A community representative said residents at the earlier meeting "were very clear that they did not want any connection between the development property and their neighborhood," citing security concerns.

2. Traffic, lighting and buffering concerns at Burloak Drive

Councillors used the public meeting to identify issues for staff and the applicant to address before a final report returns. Traffic circulation was one of the main concerns. Councillor Adams said, "So, the only way you can go out of this site will be right. You will not be able to go left, which would be northbound."

Lighting and buffering near nearby homes were also raised. The discussion focused on whether fencing, landscaping and site design could reduce impacts on the residential edge. Staff indicated that matters such as grading, stormwater, loading, access details and site design would be addressed further through the site plan process if the application proceeds.

The item remained at the issue-gathering stage rather than moving to a decision.

3. Inclusionary zoning enabling policies

Council approved Official Plan Amendment 77, establishing enabling policies for future inclusionary zoning bylaws in protected major transit station areas. Staff and delegates described the amendment as part of the city's affordable housing strategy. Delegate Sabel von Kersle told council, "So tonight we're talking about inclusionary zoning which is sort of the stick to require affordable housing."

Meeting materials and discussion indicated the framework would apply to developments meeting the city's size thresholds in areas such as Midtown Oakville and Bronte GO. Staff said the amendment creates the policy basis for a later bylaw that would set the actual affordable housing requirements and implementation details.

Council also discussed exemptions tied to provincial rules and application timing, as well as the possibility of off-site affordable units if they remain within the same protected transit station area.

4. North Oakville East commercial policy changes

Council considered Official Plan Amendment 338, which implements recommendations from the North Oakville East Commercial Study. Staff said the amendment is intended to guide retail and service commercial uses toward designated nodes and support more compact, mixed-use development.

Policy planner Anna Petrus said, "The much-needed retail and service commercial uses are now being delivered in terms of the quantity, scale, and built form. Through the North Oakville East commercial study, a key finding was that a projected demand of approximately 1.8 to 2.2 million square feet of retail and commercial space is needed in the long term to satisfy the needs of the growing community."

Discussion focused on grocery store formats, commercial flexibility and whether policy tools are strong enough to shape pedestrian-oriented design. Mayor Rob Burton said it did not make sense to require a minimum grocery store size because "it may not ultimately work for the retailer and then as a result of that you don't get any grocery store."

Staff said the amendment uses flexible "should" policies rather than rigid minimums in some areas, while still aiming to move away from standalone single-use commercial buildings over time.

5. Heritage housing grant endorsement

Council unanimously endorsed the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario's proposed Heritage Helping Housing Grant Program and agreed to ask the province to fund it. The proposal calls for $10 million a year in matching grants to support adaptive reuse of heritage buildings for housing.

Delegate Katherine Hurley said, "This proposed grant represents a rare coherent policy opportunity to address two of Canada's most pressing challenges, the acute shortage of affordable housing and the accelerated loss of cultural significant heritage properties."

Councillor Longo's motion asked that letters of support be sent to Premier Doug Ford, provincial ministers, the local MPP, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and Ontario's Big City Mayors.

Motions

Passed: - Official Plan Amendment 77 — Inclusionary Zoning Enabling Policies - Official Plan Amendment 338 — North Oakville East Commercial Study Implementation - Endorsement of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Heritage Helping Housing Grant Program proposal - Recorded vote confirming unanimous approval of the heritage housing grant endorsement

No final decision: - 580 Burloak Drive Zoning Bylaw Amendment — remained under review pending a final staff report

Attendees

The notes provided do not include a full attendance list. Councillors and officials identified in the discussion include:

• Mayor Rob Burton
• Councillor Chisholm
• Councillor Adams
• Councillor Omidvar
• Councillor McNeice
• Councillor Haslett-Theall
• Councillor Longo
• Councillor Knoll
• Anna Petrus, Policy Planner
• Arlene Bulmer, planning consultant
• Sabel von Kersle, delegate
• Katherine Hurley, delegate