Oakville Committee of Adjustment Meeting

Oakville's Committee of Adjustment heard applications involving a school parking variance, an accessory dwelling unit height variance, a residential addition at 485 Trillium Drive, and a construction-sequencing variance for a mixed-use project on Lakeshore Road West. The committee approved the school parking variance, the Trillium Drive residential variance, and the construction-sequencing variance. The notes provided do not record a final decision on the accessory dwelling unit application at 386 Allen Street.

Topics Discussed

PARTICIPATION RULES AND APPEAL RIGHTS

At the opening of the hearing, the committee outlined how residents could participate by calling 905-815-6095 while watching the live stream at oakville.ca. Speakers were instructed to press *6 to unmute when called. Applicants were given 5 minutes for presentations and 5 minutes for replies, while public delegations were limited to 5 minutes.

The committee also noted changes under Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act. The hearing notes stated: "In November 2022, Bill 23 legislation, the More Homes Built Faster Act, amended the Planning Act to remove appeal rights for members of the public." Decision notices are available by written request to the secretary-treasurer.

SCHOOL PARKING VARIANCE APPROVED: 528 BURNHAMTHORPE ROAD WEST

For File A076 of 2026, at 528 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Kings Christian Collegiate, the applicant sought relief from the zoning standard of 4 parking spaces per classroom to permit 4.9 spaces per classroom.

The school said it draws students from across Halton and beyond. In support of the application, John Dbor said, "Parents with students and seniors, it's beneficial to have cars," adding that "their drives got longer due to traffic and development." He also said some "students bring their younger siblings to school as well and avoid the buses."

The proposal included internal site changes, two circular parking areas, and a new driveway access onto Naagawa Boulevard. The application was approved without any letters of opposition noted in the hearing record. In moving approval, Miss Price said she believed the application was "minor in nature and in keeping with the general intent and purpose of the official plan and zoning bylaw."

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT HEIGHT VARIANCE DEBATED: 386 ALLEN STREET

For File A078 of 2026, at 386 Allen Street, the applicant sought permission for an accessory dwelling unit with a height of 6.91 metres, above the bylaw limit of 4 metres.

Committee discussion focused on whether the proposal matched council's recent direction on additional residential units in accessory buildings. Mr. Powski said, "The town amended its bylaw to deal with additional units and it did not change the height of an accessory building. So to me that would imply that the intent of council very recently was that these additional units in accessory buildings be limited to one story."

Committee member Jonathan McNeice questioned both the massing and the setback, saying, "I'm struggling with you want to have the advantage of a two ft side and that's your building, but you're building an additional dwelling unit that's a full two story house." He also asked, "My question about how do you build and maintain these buildings with essentially no side guard?"

Another speaker, Mr. Chilowski, said, "I'm obviously struggling deeply with this application. It's not because it's another unit." He added that his concern was "two feet side yard for a two-story residential dwelling unit that's almost the same size as the existing residential unit on the property."

A resident also raised construction concerns, saying, "I would have a significant concern as to how they can make excavate such a large basement excavation so close to the boundary line." The notes provided do not include a final decision on this file.

RESIDENTIAL VARIANCE APPROVED: 485 TRILLIUM DRIVE

The committee approved Application A0792026 for 485 Trillium Drive to permit a three-season sun room at the rear of the house and an enclosed walkway over existing stairs and landing.

The approval set the residential floor area ratio at 48.5%, above the standard 41%. During discussion, Mr. Dicki said, "I think the condition also should have included that the proposed residential flurry area be revised from 50.43% to 48.5%."

Conditions require the work to follow the specified site plans and elevation drawings, and a building permit must be issued within 2 years or the approval will expire. The notes indicate the application was approved unanimously.

CONSTRUCTION-SEQUENCING VARIANCE APPROVED: 2365-2377 LAKESHORE ROAD WEST

For Application A-080 of 2026, at 2365-2377 Lakeshore Road West, the applicant, Claystone GP, Inc., sought a variance related to holding provisions for a proposed 7-storey mixed-use building with 111 residential units, commercial space, and 154 underground parking spaces.

The applicant argued the change would allow environmental paperwork and underground construction to proceed at the same time. Andrew Henford told the committee, "This will enable record of site condition paperwork to be processed concurrently with underground construction."

The developer said the current wording of the holding provision would require the site to be excavated and then left open during monitoring, stating: "All that you can do is dig the hole down and that hole remains for those eight months." Public comments raised concern about the effect on the neighbourhood. Hannah Ford said, "So the community would be exposed to an open construction site for up to 22 months on this site, which is obviously not desirable."

Town planning staff said the approach was unusual but permitted. Colin, the town planner, said, "Amending a holding provision through a committee of adjustment application, while uncommon, is within the powers of the Planning Act for the committee and it has been done in Oakville before."

The committee approved the application unanimously, with conditions requiring underground parking and garage construction to proceed in general accordance with the approved site plan and requiring a conditional building permit within 2 years.

Motions

• A076 of 2026 - 528 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Kings Christian Collegiate - Parking Variance — Passed

  • Condition: "The surface parking area be constructed in general accordance with the approved site plan to the satisfaction of the director of planning and development."

• A0792026 - 485 Trillium Drive - Residential Variance for Sun Room and Enclosed Walkway — Passed

  • Conditions include conformity with the cited plans and drawings, a maximum residential floor area ratio of 48.5%, and issuance of a building permit within 2 years.

• A-080 of 2026 - 2365-2377 Lakeshore Road West - Variance Related to Holding Provisions/Construction Sequencing — Passed

  • Conditions include construction in general accordance with the approved site plan and expiry after 2 years if a conditional building permit is not issued.

• A078 of 2026 - 386 Allen Street - Accessory Dwelling Unit Height Variance — No final motion recorded in the notes provided

Attendees

The notes provided do not include a full attendance list for committee members present.

Named participants in the notes include: - Jonathan McNeice - Miss Price - Steven Papovich - John Dbor - Mr. Powski - Mr. Dicki - Hannah Ford - Andrew Henford - Colin, town planner - Mr. Chilowski