Oakville Council Meeting: Building Activity, EV Charging, and Midtown Development

Oakville council discussed declining building activity and its effect on development-charge revenue, changes to the town's electric-vehicle charging strategy, utility and power-grid projects, and the future of Midtown Oakville. Council approved an end to expansion of the town-owned EV charging network while maintaining existing chargers, advanced a request for federal airspace protection over Midtown, and continued discussions about a provincial proposal to maintain housing targets while limiting building heights to 38 storeys.

Topics Discussed

FINANCES, BUILDING ACTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT CHARGES

Staff reported that building-permit activity had fallen by 40% to 50% over the previous 12 to 18 months. The decline has reduced development-charge and permit-fee revenue used to fund growth-related infrastructure.

The town is drawing approximately $2 million from its building-permit stabilization reserve, according to the June 30 variance report. Staff said the downturn could last two to three years, while applications have shifted toward smaller projects.

Mayor Rob Burton and staff said provincial reductions to development charges had shifted some infrastructure costs to taxpayers. The cumulative impact was reported at $22.3 million, including $8 million covered by taxpayers this year and $6 million last year.

Councillor O'Meara questioned the increase in requests to senior governments: 38 priority requests in 2025, compared with 21 in 2023 and 23 in 2024. Staff said progress updates are provided annually between March and April.

ELECTRIC-VEHICLE CHARGING AND CLIMATE ACTION

Council approved a recommendation to maintain existing municipal EV chargers but discontinue expansion of the town-owned network. Staff reported approximately 10% usage, compared with an estimated 30% needed to cover operating costs.

Councillor Knoll supported the change, saying, "The bottom line is if you drive an EV, you don't want to use level two at this point. It's old technology." He also said Level 3 charging should be considered as the town reviews future partnerships.

Council directed staff to report on partnerships with private operators that could install and maintain Level 3 chargers on municipal property, including parking garages and surface lots. Councillors also discussed the amount of time Level 2 chargers occupy downtown parking spaces.

The climate-action discussion included the Oakleaf AI energy coach, a proposed home-energy coaching partnership, a possible carbon-offset policy and the town's transition to electric landscaping equipment.

MIDTOWN OAKVILLE DEVELOPMENT AND AIRSPACE

Council continued discussing provincial plans for the Midtown Transit-Oriented Community and OPA 70. The province has said it will work with the town on refinements that would limit building heights to 38 storeys while maintaining the overall number of homes and community benefits.

Mayor Burton said the province had promised to present a proposal to council. "The council will be free to accept or reject it," he said.

Council also advanced a request to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority to seek federal airspace protection over Midtown. Burton said the request would seek "federal airspace protection for Midtown Oakville."

Planning staff said park locations shown in OPA 70 are not yet legally secured through zoning. Parkland would need to be secured through development, acquisition or parkland reserves.

UTILITY WORK, GRID CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Oakville Enterprises Corporation and Oakville Hydro reported on projects involving Burloak Drive, Rebecca Street, Bronte Road, Trafalgar Road and Lichfield Road. Work on Burloak Drive related to GO rail electrification is expected to continue into 2027.

Councillor Romera questioned the lack of notice and coordination after utility work reduced Bronte Road to one lane. Town officials said utility companies require permits before carrying out the work.

Officials reported that Oakville has approximately 100 megawatts of excess electrical capacity for local needs and planned growth. A proposed 320-megawatt data centre has not submitted a town application and is expected to connect directly to the provincial transmission grid rather than Oakville's municipal system.

Oakville Hydro also reported participation in a smart-charging pilot using BluWave-ai and said preparation for GO rail electrification began in 2025. Residents were reminded to stay at least 33 feet from downed power lines.

PARKS, TREES AND MUNICIPAL FACILITIES

Staff attributed a reported 1% decline in the town's tree-canopy measurement to a change from Google Earth imagery to LiDAR technology. Staff said earlier measurements had overestimated canopy coverage and that the new baseline is expected to increase through tree-planting programs.

At the 16 Mile Sports Complex, design work for a geothermal retrofit is continuing. Tendering and installation are planned for 2027, with operation expected to begin in 2028. The project includes 223 underground wells and is intended to reduce natural-gas use.

Parks staff said the town is using electric backpack blowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws and a riding mower. Line trimmers remain gas-powered because of battery limitations. Staff said the town is focusing on education rather than immediately regulating gas-powered landscaping equipment.

Motions

• Consent agenda and advisory committee recommendations — passed. The remaining consent-agenda items were approved, along with recommendations from the Accessibility Advisory Committee and Heritage Oakville Advisory Committee.
• Item 9.2, growth management and building activity report — discussed after being pulled from consent. No separate final disposition was provided.
• Municipal EV charging network — passed. Council approved discontinuing expansion of the town-owned network while maintaining existing chargers and directed staff to report on private partnerships for Level 3 chargers.
• Midtown airspace protection — advanced. Council waived procedural rules and advanced a request to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority to seek federal airspace protection over Midtown.
• State of the Town address — notice of motion received. Councillors Duddeck and Giddings proposed restricting the annual address from May through November. No adoption of the proposal was recorded.
• Closed-session Midtown updates — scheduled. Confidential Transit-Oriented Communities matters were listed under agenda items 12.1 and 12.2.

Attendees

The provided material identifies:

• Mayor Rob Burton
• Councillor Sean O'Meara
• Councillor Ray Chisholm
• Councillor Jeff Knoll
• Councillor Romera
• Councillor Allan Elgar
• Councillor Janet Haslett-Theall
• Councillor Cathy Duddeck
• Councillor Dave Gittings

The full attendance list was not provided.