Regional Municipality of Halton - Approval to amend a municipality’s official plan

Halton Region adopted ROPA 48 on July 7, 2021 by By-law 31-21 and has forwarded ROPA 48 to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing ("Ministry") for a decision under sections 17 and 26 of the Planning Act.

ROPA 48 proposes to define a Regional Urban Structure by revising the boundaries and location of the Region's Urban Growth Centres; delineating and establishing densities for Major Transit Station Areas (“MTSA”); identifying strategic growth areas; and converting employment areas to allow for non-employment uses.

Urban Growth Centre Proposed Changes

Urban Growth Centres (“UGCs”) are existing or emerging downtown areas shown on Schedule 4 in A Place to Grow: the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019 (“A Place to Grow”) and further identified by the Minister in “Size and Location of Urban Growth Centres in the Greater Golden Horseshoe”.

The Ministry is seeking feedback on proposed updates to the Downtown Burlington UCG, the Downtown Milton UCG, and the Midtown Oakville UCG.

ROPA 48 proposes the following changes to the Region’s UCGs:

• to change the location of the Downtown Burlington UCG to align with the lands in proximity to the Burlington GO Station on Fairview Street, and remove approximately 19 hectares;
• to remove approximately 27 hectares from the Downtown Milton UCG associated with the Sixteen Mile Creek flood plain and a portion of the historic downtown character area; and
• to remove approximately 14 hectares from the Midtown Oakville UCG associated with the Sixteen Mile Creek floodplain and a Queen Elizabeth Way right-of-way.

If these UCG changes were to be approved as part of ROPA 48, the Minister will consider revising the mapping in the online document “Size and Location of Urban Growth Centres in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” concurrently with the Minister’s decision on ROPA 48. See Supporting Materials for links to mapping for each of the three existing UCGs, and PDF maps illustrating the proposed updates for each UCG.

Major Transit Station Area Proposed Changes

ROPA 48 proposes defined boundaries, minimum density targets and a policy framework for all MTSAs in the Region. ROPA 48 also proposes to identify all MTSAs as Protected MTSAs under subsection 16(16) of the Planning Act. Additionally, ROPA 48 proposes to remove the Downtown Burlington MTSA and add a policy framework for proposed MTSAs.

Strategic Growth Area Proposed Changes

In addition to proposed changes to UCGs and MTSAs, ROPA 48 proposes to identify additional strategic growth areas known as Regional Nodes, which are considered locally and regionally significant, and a corresponding policy framework.

Employment Area Conversion Proposed Changes

ROPA 48 proposes employment area conversions which would allow for non-employment uses, such as residential and mixed-use, on lands currently designated for more traditional employment uses, such as warehousing and manufacturing.