We now have an opportunity to change our Official Plan, before Regional approval

The City of Burlington received notice from the Region of Halton on Dec. 4 regarding the city’s Official Plan. The notice advised that the city’s adopted Official Plan does not conform with the Regional Official Plan in a number of respects related to policies and mapping, and among others, in the areas of:

• proposed employment land conversions and permitted uses within the employment areas and lands;
• the identification of and permitted uses within agricultural lands;
• the identification of and permitted uses within the Natural Heritage System; and
• transportation matters, including road classifications.

Ongoing work will continue between the city and Region which will result in a draft notice of decision containing modifications to the city’s Official Plan. These modifications will be shared with the city and brought forward to City Council for consideration.The process for final approval of the city’s Official Plan will include:

• The ability for the city to make additional modifications before the Official Plan is approved by Halton Region where there is appropriate planning justification and public consultation
• Once city staff is of the opinion that the issues of non-conformity have been addressed, the proposed changes would be brought back to Council for a vote before final approval by the Region
• An indefinite “pause” of the 210 days the Region has to approve the Official Plan

As mayor, I will work my colleagues on Burlington Council to ensure the city and Region are able take the appropriate time necessary to continue work on any potential modifications of the Official Plan. This will also allow time for any additional matters the new Council would like to address before final approval.Burlington city staff will bring forward a memo through the Council Information Package on Dec. 14 about next steps on this matter.My Take:This is the news the community has been hoping for. We will now have an opportunity to bring any additional changes to the Official Plan that the community has been asking for. We will also have a chance to incorporate ongoing work into the plan before returning it to the region, for example on the Mobility Hubs. We will be planning public engagement in the New Year.Quick Facts

• Under the Planning Act, the approval authority (the Region of Halton) has 210 days to approve, modify and approve, or refuse the new Official Plan.
• If the Region of Halton fails to give a decision within this timeframe, appeals may be filed with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT).
• The Planning Act does provide that if the approval authority states the plan or any part of it does not, in the approval authority’s opinion, conform with the upper-tier municipality’s official plan, no appeals for non-decision can be filed until the non-conformity issue is resolved.

Links and ResourcesCover letter from Halton RegionNotice of statement of opinion from Halton Region