Burlington's Adopted Official Plan Update: Recommended Downtown Policy Modifications

*Please see the release below issued by the City of Burlington.Burlington, Ont. — June 4, 2020 — The “Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown” (Scoped Re-examination of the Adopted Official Plan) project team has released recommended modifications to the downtown policies in the Adopted Official Plan. These policies will guide development in downtown Burlington to the year 2031.The recommendations are outlined in:

• Recommended modifications to Downtown policies and mapping;
• Staff report (PL-16-20);
• Final report by planning consultants SGL Planning & Design;
• Technical studies that were completed as part of the Re-examination project.

These documents are available on the Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown project page on the City’s Get Involved website.The recommended policy modifications come from a re-examination of the downtown policies in the new Official Plan that Council adopted in 2018. In accordance with the August 2019 Public Engagement Plan for the project, these recommended policy modifications have been informed by:

• extensive public engagement;
• technical studies;
• analysis of the existing downtown; and
• the need for City policies to conform to regional and provincial policies and plans.

"The ‘Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown’ (Scoped Re-examination of the Adopted Official Plan) project team has done great work and is now recommending modifications to the policies in the Adopted Official Plan. This plan will guide development in Burlington’s downtown to the year 2031. After comprehensive public engagement, we’ve now reached the stage of the project where we have recommendations for interested residents and affected parties to review and provide further comments to the team.We’re looking forward to releasing the draft Downtown Burlington Placemaking and Urban Design Guidelines this summer. These guidelines will build on the recommended policy modifications and provide additional material for consideration as we work towards the public meeting in September." -- Heather MacDonald, Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Community Planning, City of Burlington

NEXT STEPSJuly 2020: The City will share two more documents:

• Financial Impact Analysis concerning the recommended policy modifications, and
• Draft Downtown Burlington Placemaking and Urban Design Guidelines for public review.

Aug. 28, 2020: Deadline to submit comments on these documents so the project team has time to consider the feedback in advance of the Sept. 30 Committee meeting.Sept. 2020: The project team will release an additional appendix to the staff report PL-16-20 that was published in June. This appendix will provide project updates and a response to all feedback that was received prior to Aug. 28.Sept. 30, 2020: City Council will consider all reports at a public meeting of the Community Planning, Regulation, and Mobility Committee on Sept. 30. This meeting will include a presentation from City staff and the project consultants. The public will have a chance to delegate.Oct. 7, 2020: Council will consider the Sept. 30 recommendations at a Special Council meeting on Oct. 7. Council will decide whether to endorse the recommended policy modifications and submit them to Halton Region for inclusion in the Region’s approval of the new Official Plan that Council adopted in Apr. 2018.PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTResidents with comments on the recommended policy modifications should submit their comments by Aug. 28 so the project team has time to consider the feedback in advance of the Sept. 30 Committee meeting.Questions and comments can be directed to the Project Team at

• newop@burlington.ca
• 905-335-7600, ext. 7787 - Leave a message and staff will call you back during business hours. Staff are monitoring voicemail and will respond as soon as possible.

• City of Burlingtonc/o Alison EnnsCommunity Planning Department426 Brant St.P.O. Box 5013Burlington, ON L7R 3Z6

Members of the public can also delegate at the Sept. 30 Committee meeting.QUICK FACTS:

• Early in 2019, Burlington City Council directed City staff to re-examine the downtown policies in Burlington’s adopted Official Plan. As part of this work, the City hosted a series of public engagement opportunities designed to give the community the chance to provide meaningful input on the community’s vision for the downtown, both online and in person.
• A vote to endorse any changes to the policies that will guide development in the downtown until 2031 will be made by Burlington City Council on Oct. 7, 2020.
• Halton Region is the approval authority for Burlington’s adopted Official Plan.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

• Project page: www.getinvolvedburlington.ca/official-plan-2019

MAYOR MEED WARD'S TAKE:I want to thank our community for their continued engagement and staff for their work on improving the policies for the downtown. I encourage everyone to take any extra time afforded by the COVID-19 pandemic to review these draft policies and make your voices heard. The downtown belongs to the whole city, and we all have a stake in making sure we have a plan that better reflects the vision of our community for this area.I will be taking the time we have with the early release of the documents now before the public meeting in September to do a thorough review of all the materials and more reports yet to come, and to consult with the community, before taking a position on the draft.I can say the work that has been done to date has improved the downtown policies versus the Adopted OP in 2018 and I look forward to reviewing the latest set of draft policies in detail in coming weeks.--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist