Oakville MPP Steven Crawford has sent a letter to Mayor Rob Burton urging the town to formally request a Ministerial Zoning Order to protect Glen Abbey Golf Club from development.
“As you know, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has been clear in his promise to only consider issuing Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZO) on non-provincially owned land when a local municipality formally files a request for such an order,” says the letter, dated June 21.
“I hope that Your Worship and council members do the right thing by working quickly to pass such a resolution,” concludes Crawford.
With the use of an MZO, the provincial government could effectively block development on the golf course.
A controversial tool, the orders allow the government to sidestep planning processes and make immediate development decisions that cannot be appealed.
Last week, Halton politicians unanimously approved a resolution urging the province to “use all resources and tools at its disposal to protect the Glen Abbey cultural heritage landscape.”
At that time, Burton demanded that Doug Ford’s government and local MPPs Crawford and Effie Triantafilopoulos keep their promises to honour local decision making and protect the golf course.
Crawford’s letter seems to hint that the governing Progressive Conservatives might be prepared to do just that.
“Like many Oakville residents I recognize the special history that surrounds Glen Abbey Golf Club, the important place it holds within our community, here in Oakville, and its significance for the environment,” said Crawford’s letter.
At the start of the June 21 council meeting, Burton thanked Crawford for the letter and said council is "delighted with his support."
"Our officials are preparing the appropriate council resolution," Burton added. "The council response will be scheduled with the appropriate public notice."
ClubLink, which owns Glen Abbey, wants to build more than 3,000 homes and over 127,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on the golf course lands.
Oakville town council has denied the application and designated the golf course a cultural heritage landscape under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Barring political intervention by the province, a final decision on the redevelopment proposal will be made by the Ontario Land Tribunal (formerly known as the Land Planning Appeal Tribunal).
A virtual hearing is scheduled to begin on August 11 and is expected to last 19 weeks.
Last week’s request for political intervention in the case was deemed “inappropriate” by lawyer Mark Flowers, in a letter to Halton councillors on behalf of ClubLink.