Hello, as a citizen of…

Hello,

as a citizen of Oakville and the Greater Toronto Area I am extremely concerned about the Province's handling and authoritarian way of involving themselves in deciding what is best long term for in this case Oakville Midtown and in effect the Province. I am not against progress and development and Oakville being able to accommodate more residents but I am against private interests being favoured in the process and private economic interest taking over. We need homes that fit Oakville current and future residents and a livable town. That takes careful planning and the participation of people that have Oakville's best interest at heart. Filling the most amount of condo apartments into an area to fill the pockets of builders and developers does not serve that purpose and has disaster written all over it and shows no respect for the voices of the hardworking Oakville Town councillors and the concerned residents they serve.

These MZOs are

1) Forcing extreme and reckless density on Midtown
2) Demonstrate that Provincial & Private Interests are Overriding local democracy and Municipal
3) Planning discarding Town alternative (OPA70) without consideration even if a sounder way forward
4) Fail To Comply With MZO Framework.

Mega-Density.
These MZOs would force extreme and reckless density on Midtown, more than double that of any comparable development in the GTA, without the infrastructure to support it; creating chaos and overwhelming transportation and services that are already overstressed, including local roads, transit, the GO station, and the QEW. The Town’s OPA 70 already permits densities up to 6.0 FSI, which is very high by any North American standard, making these absurd densities neither necessary nor acceptable. The MZOs would also eliminate affordable housing requirements, which is what is actually needed. This TOC is not about delivering housing; it is about maximizing developer land value at the expense of livability, infrastructure capacity, and the public interest.

Provincial & Private Interests Overriding Municipal Planning
These MZOs represent a profound override of local democracy despite Oakville’s full compliance with provincial policies and proven track record of growth and housing development. The Town’s Official Plan Amendment for Midtown (OPA 70) was developed transparently, with public input and Council approval. In contrast, the TOC was advanced behind closed doors under confidentiality agreements, striving a predetermined developer driven plan with superficial consultation. This misuse of provincial power resembles the governance failures exposed in the Greenbelt scandal, where planning regulations were overridden to benefit private interests. The Province should not repeat that mistake by going forward with a bad product produced by a seriously flawed process.

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OPA70 Is A Better Alternative.
This Transit-Oriented Community (TOC) fails to comply with Premier Ford’s Build Homes Faster agenda and will not deliver a single home before 2031, the Province’s own housing deadline, and will take 25 years to complete. OPA70 is a better alternative and is ready to go. Oakville already meets and exceeds all provincial housing requirements through OPA 70. And Oakville has a proven track record for building houses. There is no necessity or urgency for imposing these MZOs now. In fact, imposing these MZO‘s will eliminate the superior alternative, for the financial benefits of the developer.

​OPA 70 would Build Homes Faster.
The economic and viability case for these MZOs and this project has collapsed. The condominium market has both collapsed and shifted, with the market no longer supporting high rise projects dominated by studios and one-bedroom units, which is the configuration this TOC proposes. Oakville needs family-oriented, complete-community housing, not investor-driven micro-units. The project will not proceed for at least five years, so there is no urgency or justification for imposing these MZOs now. Their only effect is to lock in inflated land values for the developer. IO should pause, shut down this TOC, withdraw the MZOs, and proceed with OPA 70, that is a responsible, deliverable, community-supported plan that is aligned with the changing market.

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Failure To Comply With MZO Framework.
The proposed Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) for Midtown Oakville blatantly fail to meet the Ontario government’s own post criteria for issuing MZOs. There is no municipal support, Town Council has not endorsed the project and community opposition is clear and documented; no justification for overriding established provincial, regional, and municipal planning policies, including OPA 70; and no credible urgency, given the proponent’s own timeline shows construction effectively starting after 2030 with build-out stretching two decades beyond. MZOs are meant to be exceptional tools, not a self serving substitute for proper planning, yet the only rationale offered here is “zoning certainty,” which in reality serves a single purpose: to lock in speculative land value, shift risk from the developer to the public, and freeze an outdated proposal while stripping the Town of its ability to adapt to real housing needs, infrastructure capacity, and changing conditions over time.

So I think it is rather clear. I vote NO for these MZOs and very much hope that the Province will come to its senses.

Thank you for your consideration.