Burlington Today News Article
Millcroft Greens appeal to go before OLT tomorrow
Council has opposed the bulk of the proposed development
Tania Theriault
Burlington Today News Article
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) will consider an appeal tomorrow (March 7) for a proposed residential development around the existing Millcroft Golf Club.
The Millcroft Greens development would see 90 single detached homes and 130 apartment units constructed around the golf course site, and the golf course would be redesigned.
The plan has been heavily opposed by area residents, with over 5,500 people signing a petition against it, and last month Burlington council came out as formally opposed to the plans as well.
The developer filed an appeal with the OLT in June 2022, after the city failed to provide a decision on the plan within the statutory time frame.
Since then, the city has made its position public, stating council is not opposed to the development in its entirety but that portions of the proposed plans would encroach on green space and a flood plan and cannot be supported.
"Development on green space in a flood plain is not the right place for development — and it’s not needed, given we have adequate urban land identified in our Official Plan to accommodate Burlington’s share of growth identified by the Province," Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said in a statement issued last month.
"That’s why council opposed the proposed Millcroft Greens development application for its golf course. It is greenspace and designed around a floodplain. The figure-eight nature of the course provides for natural storm water management."
She said council does not support converting green space to housing.
However, council is in support of an area on Dundas Street, noted as Area E on the map, being redeveloped. "This parcel is not green space nor in the flood plain," Meed Ward noted. "It currently houses a parking lot and shed for the golf course. Burlington council separated that parcel out in our resolution to support development here, as it does not compromise open green space or natural storm water management."
The mayor also said the houses are likely to be listed for millions of dollars if built, and therefore would be unaffordable to first-time buyers. The homes proposed would range from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, according the developer's website.
At an earlier hearing, Millcroft Against Bad Development (MAD), a community group opposing the project, was granted party status in the appeal process.
The group has been working with legal counsel and a stormwater expert on its submissions.
Tomorrow's hearing will take place at 10 a.m.
https://www.burlingtontoday.com/local-news/millcroft-greens-appeal-to-go-before-olt-tomorrow-6653003
