Statutory Public Meeting for Proposed 4375 Millcroft Park Dr. Subdivision Application on Feb. 1
ADMINISTRATOR'S UPDATE (Feb. 16, 2022): Council approved the below staff recommendation at the Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022 regularly-scheduled Council meeting:
Direct staff to continue to proceed with the processing of the submitted Plan of Subdivision application for 4375 Millcroft Park Drive (Salotto Building Group Inc.) including evaluating and incorporating any/all comments received by committee and the public at the Statutory Public Meeting, as well as the comments received through the ongoing technical review of this application by agency partners and internal departments.
For the full Council Feb. 15 Meeting Minutes, click here: Post-Meeting Minutes - Regular Meeting of Council_Feb15_2022MY TAKE:I appreciate residents coming forward to support this project as fitting in with the neighbourhood. The major concern seemed to be construction impacts. Every project must have a construction management plan -- that will address many of the issues brought forward, such as contact information. I look forward to the final review and recommendation from staff on this application. It's nice to see gentle intensification in established neighbourhoods where it could fit in.
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A statutory public meeting will be held at the Tuesday, Feb. 1 virtual Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility (CPRM) Committee at 6:30 p.m. for the proposed application for a subdivision at 4375 Millcroft Park Dr. in Ward 6.For the staff report and appendices, click here or see below:
- Staff report: PL-12-22 - SPM and Recommendation Report for 4375 Millcroft Park Drive
- Appendices:
This is not an approval or rejection report, but a recommendation to continue processing the application, including evaluating and incorporating any/all comments received by committee and the public at the Statutory Public Meeting, as well as the comments received through the ongoing technical review of this application by agency partners and internal departments.To subscribe for updates on this application and to view supporting documents, please visit www.burlington.ca/4375millcroft
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Delegating at the Meeting:Residents who wish to will have the opportunity to delegate at the meeting. Since this is a statutory public meeting, you do not have to register in advance in order to speak. However, if you wish to arrange in advance to speak at the public meeting, please register online at www.burlington.ca/delegation. If you have presentation materials, they must be submitted to Jo-Anne Rudy, Committee Clerk at Jo-Anne.Rudy@burlington.ca no later than noon (12 p.m.) one business day before the meeting to allow its distribution and review by all members of the Committee. The content of all submissions is considered to be public and will be posted to the City’s website.Speakers are limited to a maximum of 10 minutes each and are webcasted online.You can access the dedicated City of Burlington webpage here (burlington.ca/4375millcroft) for any additional information about the application, including the supporting materials and technical comments available for the public to view.
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PUBLIC PLANNING PROCESS STEPSWe want to reassure the public that any decisions made by council on any development occurs within a public process that keeps you informed and involved every step of the way, with multiple opportunities to shape the final project. You will also know how your elected representatives voted on each project, and their rationale.Council members typically do not take a position on a development matter until receiving the staff recommendation report. This protects the fairness of the process for all parties, to ensure all information is received and considered before a position is taken.
- The process starts with a pre-application community meeting to receive public input. A dedicated webpage is created on the city website with information related to the community meeting and the initial proposal. The status of the project is listed as: “Pre-application: Complete application not yet received”
- Then a formal development application for an Official Plan or Zoning Bylaw Amendment is made to the city.
- Once the application has been deemed “complete” by staff, including receipt of all the necessary supporting documents, the dedicated webpage is updated with all relevant reports and public notices. The status of the project is listed as “Amendment Application – Under Review.”
- The city must process all applications it receives and must do so within 120 days or risk an appeal to the Ontario Lands Tribunal for “non-decision”. This would take decision-making out of the hands of staff, the community and council, so we endeavour to complete our work within this legislated time frame.
- Information about the proposal is also presented to City Council at the Community Planning Regulation and Mobility Committee. Residents can delegate to speak to share their input, or simply attend and listen to the presentation and discussion. No decisions are made at this meeting. It is to inform Council and residents and receive input to shape the proposal.
- Staff review the application and continue to receive public input, and further input from the applicant. That input shapes the future recommendation from staff.
- Staff make a recommendation to Council to approve, reject or modify the proposal. This is also done at a subsequent meeting. Residents can delegate to speak to share their input, or simply attend and listen to the presentation and discussion. This is a decision-making meeting.
- Council, at the Community Planning Regulation and Mobility Committee, votes to accept the staff recommendation, reject it, or modify it. This recommendation then goes to a subsequent Council meeting for a final decision. Residents can also attend this meeting and speak. All votes are recorded, so you will know how your representative voted on an application.
- After Council makes a decision, either an applicant or residents who are not happy with the decision can appeal to the Ontario Lands Tribunal. A hearing would be set, evidence presented, and the OLT ultimately decides. They have the authority to make a different decision than the one council has made.
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WHY DOES THE CITY HAVE TO CONSIDER ALL NEW DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SUBMITTED? When the City of Burlington receives an application for a new development, we are legally bound to process any development applications and provide the developer with a decision on the application within 120 days of the application being deemed complete.All of these applications are assigned a planner who reviews the documents and feedback from residents and presents a recommendation to committee and Council on how the application should proceed — that recommendation can either be denying the application, approving it, or approving it with certain conditions.Should the City fail to provide a decision to the developer within the 120 day time frame, the developer has the right to approach the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), previously known as the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT), to request them to make a decision on whether or not they are allowed to proceed with their plans.On June 1, 2021, the LPAT was amalgamated into the OLT — an independent tribunal whose members are appointed by the cabinet of Ontario to hear cases in relation to a range of municipal planning, financial and land matters. These include matters such as official plans, zoning bylaws, subdivision plans, consents and minor variances, and other issues assigned by numerous Ontario statutes.When this happens, it will not only cost the City money by means of legal fees and representation at the OLT, but it also takes the decision-making process away from the City and City Council – in other words, projects that are not acceptable to our residents and City planning officials could go ahead and our residents would be very limited in their ability to provide input on how their neighborhoods are structured.It is the City’s obligation to its residents to ensure we are able to provide them with opportunity to be a part of the planning process for the neighborhoods. Planning affects all of us as it determines where we live, work, play and raise a family, and that is why the City encourages residents to get involved in this process.If a member of the public believes that a planning decision should be re-examined, they can appeal the decision to the OLT. The OLT has the authority to refer a decision back to Council for reconsideration. If a subsequent appeal of the second Council decision is made, then the OLT has the authority to approve, change or refuse the application and override the decision made by the municipal Council.The Mayor doesn’t provide a position on a development application until staff review and share their expertise and a recommendation in order to protect the process and residents.To learn more about the Planning Process, please visit the dedicated Burlington Planning Process page on the City’s website.RELATED LINK: