Anyone who tuned into the Oakville town council meeting last night, June 3, hoping for clarity on the future of Midtown will have left disappointed.
For more than a year now, the roughly one square kilometre area around Oakville’s GO station has been the subject of intense public attention and discussion.
While always expected to develop as a dense, transit-oriented community, a plan to allow dozens of 35- to 50-storey towers in the area was met with considerable community opposition.
On April 22, town councillors stepped away from the unpopular vision, agreeing to what Mayor Rob Burton described as a “reset”.
Read more here: Town council topples tall tower Midtown plan
A new proposal, featuring mixed building heights and a population cap of 35,000 people and jobs, was presented by town staff on June 3.
But rather than officially endorsing the reduced building heights and lower population, councillors simply received the information and called for yet another staff report.
That report is expected to address concerns – including population density, traffic and transportation issues, infrastructure costs, green space and green building standards – that were identified by councillors and members of the public during the five-hour meeting.
But none of those issues is new.
What is new is that a certain amount of Midtown development may no longer be within the town’s control.
According to a May 31 letter from the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure, the province is exploring a potential Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) project within Oakville.
The provincial program negotiates with developers to build housing and other amenities around transit areas, such as GO and subway stations.
Details in the letter are vague, with the province not even specifically identifying Midtown as the area under consideration.
"The provincially-led TOC Program is meant to leverage opportunities whereby private sector builders will deliver vibrant, mixed-use communities that will bring more housing (including affordable housing options), jobs, retail, public amenities and entertainment within a short distance of new and existing transit stations," explains the letter.
It adds that the program aims to increase housing, transit ridership and offset the cost of new station infrastructure.
Town staff will be meeting with the province later this month to discuss how the process will work, with a report to town council to follow, according to Oakville CAO Jane Clohecy.
"I’m hoping to have some information back to you as quickly as possible," she told councillors.
But it isn’t clear how much of that information will be made public.
The Ministry letter notes that the first step will be for the town, region and province to "enter into a confidentiality agreement to ensure that commercially sensitive materials may be shared in good faith to support ongoing information exchange and collaboration."
The province does promise it will receive feedback "through public meetings and a consultation process."
"We are encouraged that the province has indicated that there will be opportunities through the TOC process for the town, our residents, and other interested parties to provide input to achieve an outcome that best meets the needs of our community," said Mayor Rob Burton, in a statement issued by the communications department.
"Our community has had many ideas on how Midtown Oakville should be planned, and we look forward to the opportunity of sharing those ideas with the province."
While Oakville staff will review proposals and technical submissions, the developments will not require approval from either town or regional council.
The TOC project is led by Infrastructure Ontario. Examples of some of the projects can be found online here.