Are you ready to see 70,000 to 90,000 people move into high-rise towers surrounding the Oakville GO station?
For years, the town has been planning for a high-density residential and mixed-use neighbourhood in the 103-hectare area bounded by the QEW, Sixteen Mile Creek, Cornwall Road and Chartwell Road.
The details that will shape that community are now available for public scrutiny on the town's Midtown Oakville Growth Area Review page.
Ward 3 councillors Janet Haslett-Theall and Dave Gittings have also taken the unusual step of setting up an independent website to share information with residents.
The site, www.midtownoakville.ca, aims to be a quick and nimble way to communicate news and answers about the Midtown vision.
The website's home page says this is, "The biggest development project Oakville will ever undertake." It also affirms, "We need to get it right."
"This comes from a place of councillors wanting to ensure that residents have the fullness of the information that they need," explained Haslett-Theall.
Last week, the town released a 39-page draft Official Plan Amendment (OPA) that outlines the size, shape and relationships of the buildings, roads, jobs, shops, transportation and green space planned for Midtown.
It offers a big picture design for a community intended to provide "a self-sufficient urban living experience for people of all ages, where most daily living needs are located within a short walk, bicycle or transit ride from home."
That urban living environment will consist mainly of tall and mid-rise towers. The town is already considering applications for buildings as tall as 58-storeys.
Read more: How livable are 58-storey towers?
Midtown could contain at least 20,600 residents and jobs by 2031. However, phased development is expected to continue over the next 30 years.
That has Haslett-Theall and others questioning the ultimate build-out of the area.
"The scale of what is now being proposed for Midtown far exceeds what was previously contemplated," notes the midtownoakville.ca website. "The density permissions outlined in the proposed Midtown Amendment represent 70,000 people and could reach as many as 90,000."
"We think we're being very conservative when we say 70,000 to 90,000," says Haslett-Theall. "We believe it could very well be higher."
The Trafalgar Chartwell Residents’ Association (TCRA) has also expressed concerns, particularly with the "extreme heights" and thousands of "tiny units," averaging 700 square feet, being proposed for the nine towers currently under consideration.
"We question whether or not there is a market in Oakville for what is currently proposed by developers," says a position paper released by the association a few weeks ago. "We do not support towers taller than the original 12 to 20 stories in the Livable Oakville Plan."
But in a presentation to TCRA members last week, Mayor Rob Burton noted that Midtown Oakville is one of 25 identified provincial urban growth areas and the vision has always been for small units to accommodate young people and older singles.
"There was never an intention that this was to be family-centred," he said, noting that census data shows Oakville is oversupplied with single family homes and undersupplied with small units.
He added that the town’s official plan has always aimed to direct new development to Midtown and other growth areas to avoid adding density to existing neighbourhoods.
"We have to wrap our heads around the fact that we’re going to grow a lot and we’ve got to decide how close together we want to live on the streets where we live versus what we want to have in Midtown and the other growth areas – because Midtown's only one of them."
How to get involved
If you want to know more, tonight (Tuesday, May 9, 2023) is your opportunity. Information will be available and town planners will be on hand to answer questions at a public information session from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
The town is also collecting public input through an online survey until May 31.
On Tuesday, May 23, delegates will be heard at a special planning and development meeting to discuss the future of Midtown.
Public input will be included as part of the final OPA to be considered by town councillors early this summer.