Mapping Updates to “Size and Location of Urban Growth Centres in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” (2008)

A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019 (A Place to Grow) defines urban growth centres as “existing or emerging downtown areas” shown on Schedule 4 of A Place to Grow and as further identified by the Minister in 2008, in the policy document “Size and Location of Urban Growth Centres in the Greater Golden Horseshoe”.

A Place to Grow policy 5.2.2.1 b) provides for the Minister to identify, establish or update the size and location of urban growth centres.

Halton Regional Official Plan Amendment 48 proposed the following changes to the Region’s urban growth centres:

• to change the location of the Downtown Burlington Urban Growth Centre to align with the lands in proximity to the Burlington GO Station on Fairview Street, and reduce the total area by approximately 19 hectares;
• to remove approximately 27 hectares from the Downtown Milton Urban Growth Centre 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 Urban Growth Centre associated with the Sixteen Mile Creek floodplain and a Queen Elizabeth Way right-of-way.

The relocation of the Downtown Burlington Urban Growth Centre supports the government’s priority to build transit-oriented communities, ensuring people live closer to transit and spend less time commuting. While Burlington’s historic downtown is located in an area along the lakefront centered around Brant Street, the City and Region foresee an emerging downtown area centred around the Burlington GO Station. Given the scale of Schedule 4 of A Place to Grow, this emerging area does not reflect a departure from the location identified in Schedule 4.

Boundary adjustments of the Downtown Milton Urban Growth Centre and Midtown Oakville Urban Growth Centre remove flood plains and undevelopable lands on the periphery of the urban growth centre boundary that will not contribute to achieving the minimum density target of urban growth centres.