Council, residents say NO
Burlington Today: September 16 2026
Like a ball that was teed up too high, the future of Millcroft Golf Course is still up in the air.
During a Tuesday meeting, city council heard from eight delegates who stuck around in council chambers for several hours to make their voices heard.
Though council is in support of staff’s recommendation to refuse the application to designate the area for a residential subdivision – which will be further discussed at a Regular Meeting of Council on Sept. 29 – they said the situation is mostly out of their control.
Ward 2 councillor Lisa Kearns summed it up succinctly at the end of delegations: "We've used all the tools in our toolbox."
Two separate requests for Ministry Zoning Orders are sparring against one another. The city requested an MZO that would see development halted where it is effectively, with Phase 1 of the ongoing development on the golf course being the final addition to the neighbourhood. The developer, Millcroft Greens Corporation, requested their own MZO for the remaining golf course lands that have not already been approved for rezoning.
No decisions have been made yet on either MZO. Phase 1 has already been approved by the OLT and work has started on the golf course, but Phase 2 remains under review. The development would see six additional blocks of developable land spread around the golf course, with 138 new houses built. The builds would take up 25 acres of land, with another 75 still remaining unused.
“We are doing the same thing we did for the first phase,” Cynthia Shanahan, executive with Millcroft Against Development told BurlingtonToday. “I am glad it was a unanimous vote, that is what we were looking for. With an election coming up, things are tenuous, who knows who will be back on council. At least the staff have been given clear direction.”
Members of the public stayed in council chambers as council discussed other matters, and Ward 4 councillor and meeting chair Shawna Stolte hurried the meeting along to ensure all delegates could be heard.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said the battle is now largely in the hands of the province, but that the city is not out of the fight yet.
Meed Ward suggested the possibility of advocating for the abolition of the Ontario Land Tribunal, (OLT) asking a delegate to join the city’s pleas to the province to get rid of the organization, and to write to their Member of Provincial Parliament, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Premier Doug Ford.
“I will get a petition going,” Meed Ward said when speaking about potentially abolishing the OLT.
Ward 6 councillor Angelo Bentivegnia asked if there was any indication of the land being returned to the city, as Millcroft Greens suggests on its website. The Millcroft Greens website reads that the application includes a commitment to dedicate approximately 75 acres of open space land to the City of Burlington for zero financial consideration.
The city’s Commissioner of Development and Growth Management Stephen Robichaud said there is nothing concrete that suggests the applicants intend to give the city the remaining land.
