I assuming that the Minister…

I assuming that the Minister has reviewed the file on this proposal, but to reiterate our position, taken from the WeLoveOakville site, I emphasize these concerns:

OUR TOP CONCERNS

Hyper Density: It’s Gone From Bad to Worse
11 high-rise towers with heights ranging from 46 to 59 storeys on just 5 hectares of land near the Oakville GO Station.
6,908 units, 66% of which will be studio or one-bedroom units.
This end result represents a potential 14,000 people living on 5 hectares with a density of 2,800 people per hectare.

Two points of comparison to help understand this level of density:
the province’s original density target was 200 people and job jobs per hectare and the TOC proposal is an inexplicable 14 times greater than that target; and
the area of a soccer field, excluding stands, is approximately 1 hectare, so imagine trying to cram 2,800 people on a soccer field.

If the 43 hectares of developable land in Midtown were developed at this level of density, the population of Midtown would be 118,818. This is inconceivable.

Imagine skyscrapers that would rival Manhattan in density and height!

Inadequate Transportation Infrastructure
Transportation studies have revealed that Midtown doesn’t have the road transportation infrastructure to even support the previously assigned target density of 200 people and jobs per hectare, let alone 2,800 people per hectare.

The serious traffic congestion and lack of capacity on Trafalgar, Cornwall, Cross Avenue, QEW interchange and others that traverse Midtown will turn into gridlock. These conditions will not only impede commuters heading to the GO station, they will also affect public transit, and everyday residents who drive, cycle, walk, shop or attend school in the area.

No Parks and Community Facilities
The TOC proposal acknowledges the fact that Midtown has no public parks or community facilities. Their proposed solution is for the 14,000 people to play and recreate somewhere else and use the parks and community facilities in nearby neighbourhoods. Presumably, the same strategy will be used for schooling. This will not build a complete and livable community and it shows the TOC has no interest in creating one. Midtown will become a doughnut with a centre that nobody uses except for sleeping.

Sustainability Not Addressed
While the TOC suggests sustainability will be promoted, it doesn’t commit the developer to anything beyond minimum regulatory compliance. We have consistently argued that Midtown must be developed to standards of environmental performance that go beyond minimum regulatory compliance, such as Green Development Standards being used by municipalities across Ontario who can provide models for standards, methods and use.

This Level Of Height And Density Is Not Needed

Notwithstanding the reality that the condo market has collapsed, and the selected developer will likely choose to execute a “land bank”, the level of hyperdensity in the proposed TOC is not only unacceptable, it isn’t needed to meet provincial targets.

The provincial minimum growth targets can be attained with reasonable building heights and density like those being considered in the Town’s new OPA. The level of density proposed in this TOC of 2,800 is 14 times greater than the provincial target of 200. It is twice that of the most densely developed community in the world (Manhattan & , Hong Kong).

​OUR POSITION
​
The province must reconsider and stop the TOC and its piece-meal planning approach to Midtown.
Oakville must be allowed to plan its own future. Local planning has the ability and the desire to ensure a strong and adaptive Midtown Official Plan Amendment that will deliver transit-oriented housing and liveability that will meet and exceed minimum provincial density targets.

In summary, I strongly object to this travesty of a plan: my husband & I have consistently voted Conservative but we will express our displeasure with the TOC at the ballot box.