Halton to Grow by 1.1M people & jobs by 2051: Impact in Burlington

Halton Region
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Halton Region will need to accommodate 1.1 million people and jobs between 2031 and 2051 and is currently in the middle of a review to determine how that growth will be allocated to the four Halton municipalities including Burlington.The Region is currently holding virtual public  information meetings to discuss several options for accommodating the growth. The next session for Burlington discussing North Aldershot takes place tonight (May 17) on Zoom at 7 p.m.

A session was also held on May 11 to discuss the rest of Burlington.

Later this year, Regional Council, including all seven members of Burlington City Council, will vote on a preferred growth concept.Interested residents can also book a personal appointment with a Regional planner to discuss the Growth Concepts options and clarify any questions that you would like to raise with them. They can also outline the Growth Options for you in a one-on-one discussion where you can ask us questions and provide your feedback.These appointments can be booked online at www.halton.ca/ropr or by calling 905-825-6000, ext. 7772.As I mentioned earlier, the options Halton Region is looking at is to assign growth to the four municipalities for the period 2031 to 2051.The City of Burlington has already met our forecasted population growth to 2031.A total of 1.1 million new residents will need to be accommodated in the Region between 2031 and 2051.The options discussed at the May 11 public information session are different scenarios for how to divide that growth between the four Halton municipalities. Depending on the option, Burlington’s new population and jobs will be between 45,190 and 61,050 -- see the screen capture to the right or click this link for the whole presentation: https://www.halton.ca/getmedia/4d6ef947-264f-41d2-b418-cb0a8abd0c7b/LPS-Burlington-PIC-Presentation-Growth-Concepts-May-11.aspx.The various options primarily change where growth will be in Milton and Halton Hills, in terms of how much additional greenfield development will be required.More information on the options, and mapping, is available here: https://www.halton.ca/The-Region/Regional-Planning/Regional-Official-Plan-(ROP)-(1)/Halton-s-Regional-Official-Plan-Review-(ROPR).The various options will not substantially change established neighbourhoods in Burlington.Most of Burlington’s future growth will occur around our three GO stations -- Burlington, Appleby and Aldershot. These are referred to as Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs). Additional modest growth will occur in other “nodes” in the city, including retail and commercial plazas/malls, as well as the downtown.As part of the City of Burlington’s recent Official Plan review and approval, we created an “urban structure” map showing where the bulk of new growth will go. That map is part of the input we provided to the Region as they consider distribution of new population between 2031-2051 among the four Halton municipalities. You can find the Urban Structure map on slide 20 of the presentation in the link here: https://www.halton.ca/The-Region/Regional-Planning/Regional-Official-Plan-(ROP)-(1)/Halton-s-Regional-Official-Plan-Review-(ROPR).You can also find our growth framework of primary, secondary and employment growth areas on the screen capture to the right.As noted, primary/secondary growth is directed away from established neighbourhoods, noted in the light blue colour. This map is also page 541 of Burlington’s new Official Plan (link here: https://www.burlington.ca/en/services-for-you/resources/Initiative%20Projects/new-official-plan/Burlington-Official-Plan-2020_Interim-Working-Version_Feb-2021.pdf).In addition, Burlington will be embarking on planning for each of the MTSAs this year, to determine built form, parks, community amenities, retail and commercial offerings. This will be a public process and I hope our residents will participate in helping to shape those plans. Information and details on how to participate will be shared in the coming months.The overview kickoff of this process was discussed during a Council workshop today (Monday, May 17). You can go through the staff presentation here: Council Workshop on MTSA Area-Specific Planning Project Kickoff - May 17 2021 - Staff Presentation.As the process is still underway to hear from residents and staff about the options, including additional study and analysis, I have not taken a position yet on any of the options.Certainly, when this comes to Regional Council for a decision, I will let residents know my views and rationale.RELATED LINK:

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