Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – July 18, 2022 – What's Next with the Millcroft Greens Corp. Appeal at the Ontario Land Tribunal?

Welcome to the Mayor’s Monday Mailbag, an initiative Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and the Mayor’s Office launched to share weekly answers to questions from the public we’ve received through our main email inbox at mayor@burlington.ca or the Mayor’s social media platforms.At the end of the month, we’ll publish a roundup of those most pressing questions we’ve received in the weeks prior.Mayor’s Monday Mailbag – July 18, 2022QUESTION:“Now that the Millcroft Greens Corp. has filed an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal regarding its proposed redevelopment application for the Millcroft golf course, what are the next steps for the City of Burlington?”ANSWER:The City of Burlington has received an appeal filed by Millcroft Greens Corporation regarding its applications for Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments and a plan of subdivision on the Millcroft golf course. Please read the full release on the appeal here. While the appeal has been filed, staff will continue to review this application in order to bring a recommendation to Council.Decision timeframeThe appeal has been made on the grounds of the City’s lack of decision within the statutory timeframes. As to why a decision was not made in the 120-day timeline, the application submitted by Millcroft Greens is complex and has been revised since originally submitted to respond to concerns that have been raised.Multiple City departments, in addition to Community Planning, must provide input on the application as well, including Transportation, Engineering Services, Roads, Parks & Forestry, Legal, Transit and others. Beyond City staff, and due to the nature and location of the proposed redevelopment, other government agencies also have to review and provide feedback into the applications, including Halton Region, Conservation Halton and consultants -- who have not completed their reviews of the revised Millcroft Greens applications.We understand this news concerns residents, and many are wondering what the next steps are and what actions Council can take. Having staff complete their review of the application is extremely important, as Council does not publicly take a position on a matter until it has received the complete analysis and review from staff with their recommendation.Given the complexity of this file, this step has not occurred yet. It is crucial that we have that recommendation before taking a position, even on applications that are being appealed to the OLT.What’s next?Next, we will need to prepare our case for the tribunal. Now that the file has been appealed to the OLT, the recommendation from staff, once available, will be first discussed in closed session, as it will inform our legal strategy.To successfully make our case at the tribunal, we don’t disclose our legal strategy publicly in advance and that is why conversations with staff will occur in closed session.The planning recommendation could be to reject the application in whole or in part, or to approve the application in whole or in part with or without conditions. Council can accept the staff recommendation as presented, reject it, or modify it.Once Council receives a staff report and recommendation to take a position, Council can, at that time, vote to waive privilege over our position and release it publicly. A high-level staff overview of the project is expected this fall, and Council will be in a better position to know what can be released publicly without jeopardizing our legal strategy at the tribunal.Joint Statement from the Mayor and Ward CouncillorWe’re disappointed by the decision to appeal, as it takes decision-making out of the hands of the community and Council. We will work together with all of Council and staff to ensure the community perspective is heard at the tribunal. There are also opportunities for the community to be involved directly at the tribunal, and we encourage residents to review those. There are many more steps to come before any decision is made and we will ensure our community voice is heard and that every opportunity for public participation is provided.You can access the City’s dedicated Millcroft Greens webpage here for any additional information about the appeal, including an FAQ about the OLT process for this application. You can also subscribe to alerts to be notified when any news about this application is posted.If you have any questions, please reach out to Mayor Meed Ward at mayor@burlington.ca and/or your Ward councillor at ward1@burlington.ca / ward2@burlington.ca / ward3@burlington.ca / ward4@burlington.ca / ward5@burlington.ca / ward6@burlington.ca

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