Burlington Committee moves to approve certain exemptions to the Interim Control Bylaw, final approval to Council on April 23

UPDATE: Burlington City Council approved this staff report at Council on April 25.On Tuesday, April 2, Burlington Planning and Development (P&D) Committee moved to carry a report by staff detailing certain exemptions to the Interim Control Bylaw we passed on March 5.To view the staff report detailing the ICBL exemptions, please click the link: PB-40-19 Interim Control By-law ExemptionsExemptions from the ICBL can be allowed in the study area (areas in the downtown and around the Burlington GO station) if your planned construction, alteration or expansion includes:

• a zoning clearance certificate and/or building permit for a deck, pool, patio, fence, porch, accessory building or structure, temporary building or structure, or interior renovation to an existing building;
• a site plan application that is currently in process or approved on the date of the passage of the ICBL (March 5) – those include:
  • 374-380 Martha St.;
  • 490-492 Brock Ave/1298 Ontario St;
  • 421 Brant St;
  • 442 Pearl St;
  • 471 Pearl St.;
  • 2030 Caroline St/510 Elizabeth St/2025 Maria St; and
  • 2092 Old Lakeshore Rd.
  • The Director of City of Building indicated during the April 2 P&D Committee Meeting that there were no other site plans in process or approved prior to March 5 that qualify for an exemption;
• A Committee of Adjustment application under Sec. 45(1) of the Planning Act that includes any of the criteria identified in the first point.

This report will head for final approval to Burlington City Council at the Tuesday, April 23 meeting in Council Chambers at 6:30 p.m.Since enacting the ICBL on March 5, my office has consistently received overwhelming support from the community regarding this initiative. The ICBL will be in effect for a period of one-year pending the completion of a study to:

• Assess the role and function of the downtown bus terminal and the Burlington GO Station as Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs), including assessing the existing and long range planned transit service for the Study Area and the connections between the two respective MTSAs;
• Examine the planning structure, land use mix, and intensity for the lands identified in the downtown and around the Burlington GO station; and
• Update the Official Plan and Zoning By-law regulations, as needed, for the lands identified above.

For more details, here is a FAQ on ICBL.MY TAKE:I thank our city staff for the work they have put into this Interim Control Bylaw and the exemptions report brought forward. This has not been an easy process, but it is an important one and one in the right direction to take. I am not in support of any exemptions that have come forward outside of the staff report because they would undermine the very reasons we are undertaking our ICBL. We have heard 'I bought the land, I bought it at a price; what if I change my proposal,' among the reasons for exemptions. Our focus on City Council is to get the policy-planning framework right for the future. I have asked Council to support what is in front of us in this report and not support any exemptions that would undermine the work we are planning to take.