M.A.D. and our partners at Small Change Fund are currently accepting donations!

Snapshot:

The mission of this project is to maintain the existing Millcroft Golf Course lands in Burlington, Ontario as Major Parks and Open Space.

During the last three years we have focused on organizing the community voice and resources in opposition to Millcroft Green’s application to infill the golf course with residential housing. The Millcroft Golf Course, which is completely embedded inside our community, was designed to provide three essential needs: to provide a home to our abundant Wildlife, to act as a Flood Management System for stormwater events, and to provide Environmental Open Space for the health of both our 10,000 Millcroft residents and neighbouring communities.

We are formally opposing all efforts to introduce residential development on the existing Millcroft Golf Course at the Ontario Land Tribunal and are seeking donations to continue funding the necessary professionals retained to oppose Millcroft Green’s development application. We have engaged Weir Foulds, one of the premier legal firms in Ontario, as well as top planning consultant, Allan Ramsay.

This work has already attracted the support of more than 5,000 local individuals. You can join them. Help us preserve Burlington greens space and wildlife by donating today!

Story:

The Millcroft neighbourhood is unique in that, rather than including a golf course as a feature, it was built around the golf course as THE feature - the epicenter, the heart of the community. Millcroft is synonymous with the golf course. The street names feature famous golfers and allusions to green space - several including the words “field” or “park.” Moreover, the golf course is home to many species of wildlife. It is not unusual to find turtles and beavers emerging from the pond located on the 6th hole, families of ducks waddling along the footpaths, a Great Blue Heron or Cooper's Hawk, Trumpeter and Mute swans swimming in the ponds, or American Mink and fox darting through the trees. Millcroft’s signature feature - the golf course - provides green space and a wildlife haven in the predominantly concrete-laden north Burlington.

Millcroft Green’s proposal is to redesign the existing Millcroft Golf Course and introduce select parcels of residential development. This has the potential to disrupt ecosystems and wildlife, reduce green space, increase flooding, overburden infrastructure, lead to the rezoning of existing school districts, significantly decrease existing property values, increase traffic, and alter the character of one of Burlington’s most iconic neighbourhoods

The City’s Official Plan incorporates the golf course’s current zoning of O1 (Open Space), with most sections designated as part of the Natural Heritage System. Section 2.3.5 of the Official Plan states that: “Lands identified as Natural Heritage System, Major Parks, and Open Space, include the City’s Natural Heritage System and lands designated for Major Parks and Open Space. Together, they are essential components of a healthy and sustainable urban area and are intended to be protected in accordance with the policies of this Plan.”

This is in line with the City’s January Private Tree By-law, which has an objective “to protect, prohibit and regulate the injury or destruction of trees and encourage the preservation and planting of trees within the Urban Planning Area Boundary of the municipality.”

The first phase of the proposed development eliminates a staggering 411 mature trees from an area designated as part of the Natural Heritage System. In an era where citizens are begging governments to take decisive, urgent, and exhaustive action in the global climate crisis, the thought of destroying an established, mature ecosystem and displacing or destroying precious wildlife is unfathomable. We trust that the public is of the same mindset, given that the Burlington City Council unanimously passed a motion to declare a climate emergency. This proposed development exacerbates an already dire circumstance.

Numerous detrimental effects accompany the proposed development, most notably, building homes on a flood plain, disrupting ecosystems and wildlife, reducing green space, and defiling the character of the neighbourhood.

Burlington was recently voted Canada’s best place to live. We believe the Millcroft neighbourhood, as is, epitomizes this honourable accolade.

Please donate today to protect the green space that defines our beloved community.