Town of Oakville
The plan for Midtown Oakville is set to get more study.
During a standing-room-only town council meeting on Tuesday night, more than a dozen delegations expressed their concerns about the design of future development in the area around Oakville's GO station.
The most common theme: too big, too tall, too dense.
There were plenty of questions about how many people would eventually live and work in the roughly one square kilometre area.
Town staff say it will hit 43,000 people by 2051 and 68,000 people by 2081.
But, according to Councillor Sean O'Meara, those staff predictions were 90,000 only days ago.
Others have crunched the numbers to show that Midtown could theoretically eventually house between 137,000 and 190,000 people.
Town of Oakville
Read more: The biggest development project Oakville will ever undertake
Concerns about flooding from stormwater and other impacts on areas outside of Midtown were highlighted.
But councillors were also presented with a range of interesting ideas and helpful suggestions.
All of the feedback led Ward 3 councillor Janet Haslett-Theall to propose that a committee of councillors and staff be set up to further study the Midtown plan, pushing off a final decision originally scheduled for early summer.
With construction of the servicing pipes necessary to allow the start of Midtown development still more than 18 months away, the extra study won't slow the process, she added.
"We all want to make the best possible decision to ensure the future of Midtown is truly a vibrant, livable neighbourhood – a welcoming, positive addition to the neighbourhoods that make up the town of Oakville."
Council unanimously agreed with Haslett-Theall's plan.
"What tonight has shown us is that we need this," said Mayor Rob Burton. "The public needs this; members of council need this in order to understand it better."
The committee will review public feedback and look at best planning practices to create an overall Midtown plan and the need for area infrastructure.
"Tall towers in a concrete jungle"
Some of that echoes the concerns and suggestions raised by members of the public at Tuesday's meeting.
Councillors heard from representatives of eight Oakville resident associations.
Most offered support for growth in the Midtown area but questioned the details contained in the existing plan, which comes in the form of a draft Official Plan Amendment (OPA).
Oakville should aspire to build something different than just another high-rise development area, said Rick Snidal, speaking on behalf of We Love Oakville.
But he said that will require a specific plan that sets out standards and goes beyond the "aspirational hopes and pretty pictures that make up current OPA."
"If we don't articulate our vision and objectives now, we fear that Midtown could end up as just another collection of tall towers in a concrete jungle."
The group also expressed concerns about the financial risk to existing taxpayers if growth fails to materialize after the town shells out for infrastructure not paid for development charges.
The risk of downstream flooding in the case of a major storm was the focus of a presentation by the Oakville Community Association (OCA).
It urged the town to undertake spill mapping to determine the risks to residents living downstream as a result of the increase in impervious pavement in the Midtown area.
Oakville Community Association
OCA board member Gordon Brennan added that the association had received nearly 1,000 comments on the development plan, with only one in favour of the current design.
"This Midtown monstrosity is the epitome of what I classify as anti-Oakville," he said.
While the town is planning for future bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes along Trafalgar Road, Santiago Lievano urged a more ambitious transit vision.
He suggested the town should prepare for population build-out by establishing the infrastructure that would accommodate an eventual LRT (light rail transit) system.
Creating an elevated LRT guideway – even if it is only used by buses for now – would allow the town to eventually consider a 17-stop light rail line connecting the "greatest hits of Oakville destinations," including Highway 407, Uptown, Sheridan College, Oakville Place, and Midtown.
"Such future-proofing is essential to consider right now, while the 407 is still a greenfield, while Trafalgar still has its wide boulevard, while Oakville Place and Sheridan College are still surrounded by large parking lots, and most importantly, while Midtown is still defined by possibility instead of complexity," he said.
Town of Oakville
Councillors were also urged to ensure Midtown develops as a complete community with a range of services, jobs, retail, housing types and transportation options.
While that's long been the town's Midtown vision, several resident associations suggested the proposed densities would have "unintended and unlivable consequences," including traffic chaos, as well as a shortage of parking, schools, retail and green space.
The "extreme population density" is proposed to be far greater than downtown Toronto and "will have ramifications for every aspect of life, not just in Midtown but for the whole of Oakville," said Carolyn McMinn, president of the Trafalgar Chartwell Residents' Association (TCRA).
Elizabeth Chalmers, president of Joshua Creek Residents Association (JCRA), said the town needs to get proposed Midtown densities right "because we cannot go back and downsize what is permitted after this time."
Harry Shea of the Bronte Village Residents Association expressed concern about what density precedents the plan might establish for other growth areas across the town, including the Bronte GO area.
But one local homebuilder spoke against planning delays that add to costs and raise housing prices.
Delaying a 350-unit condo for one year drives up prices by more than $68,000 per unit, said Matt Stainton, president of SG Constructors.
"This is the one factor that hurts people -- time," he said. "Land costs are market driven. Construction costs are market driven. It's the process that's killing and hurting affordability."
Other delegates called for an increase in affordable housing in the Midtown area, a third-party peer review of the plan's population projections and the incorporation of green development standards.
And while provincial rules require the town to grow and develop, Oakvillegreen president Karen Brock urged council to work within those rules to build the best possible version of Midtown.
"Shrugging our shoulders and saying, 'We're only creatures of the province' is, I think, abdicating our responsibilities for our community," she said. "Having a community that is overbuilt will feel like warehousing rather than creating a healthy, desirable neighbourhood."
Several councillors and the mayor reflected on the quality of the delegations taking part in the meeting.
"We have got a wealth of information tonight coming from all the residents who have spoken to us," said Ward 4 councillor Allan Elgar.
The town is still collecting public feedback on the Midtown plan through an online survey available until May 31.
