Appeal of City of Burlington - Approval to amend a municipality’s official plan

ERO number
019-8978
Notice stage
Appeal
Appeal posted
Last updated
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Appeal summary

Notice of Appeal pursuant to s. 17(36) of the Planning Act Appeal by 2731115 Ontario Inc., F. K Deals on Wheels Inc., 2731119 Ontario Inc., and Manor Care Homes Inc. of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s decision to approve the City of Burlington’s OPA 2 ERO Number: 019-8978 Ministry Reference Number: 24-OP-249954

Appeal details

Notice under section 47 of the Environmental Bill or Rights – Appeal under another Act.

This notice is given by the appellant in accordance with section 47 of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993. The notice was prepared by the appellant and represents its position. It does not represent or reflect the views of the Government of Ontario, nor does the Government of Ontario make any representations about the accuracy of the content of this notice.

Description of the decision:

On October 10, 2025, the City of Burlington’s Official Plan Amendment 2 (By-law No. 45-2024) was approved with modifications, updating the 2020 Official Plan to guide future development within three Protected Major Transit Station Areas.

Grounds for leave to appeal are as follow:

  1. The Subject Property Can Support a Tall Building.
  2. Land Use Compatibility Policies Are Too Onerous and Discretionary.
  3. Minimum Unit Sizes Should Not Be Regulated.
  4. Requirements to Replace Existing Employment Functions Are Overly Restrictive.
  5. OPA 2 Does Not Have Sufficient Regard for Matters of Provincial Interest.
  6. OPA 2 Is Not Consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement.

Additional details may be found on the Ontario Land Tribunal’s Case Status page.

Supporting materials

View materials in person

Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.

Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

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Contact

More information, including hearing dates and locations can be provided by the appellate body.  Additional information about the instrument appeal process, can be provided by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Registrar, Ontario Land Tribunal
655 Bay Street, Suite 1500
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1E5
(416) 212-6349
(866) 448-2248
OLT.Registrar@ontario.ca

About the Ontario Land Tribunal

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Environmental Bill of Rights Office
40 St. Clair Ave. West
12th Floor
Toronto, ON
M4V 1M2

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Original decision

City of Burlington - Approval to amend a municipality’s official plan

Instrument type: Approval to amend a municipality’s official plan

ERO number
019-8978
Ministry reference number
24-OP-249954
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Notice stage
Decision Appeal
Decision posted
Comment period
July 26, 2024 - September 9, 2024 (45 days) Closed
Last updated

This consultation was open from:
July 26, 2024
to September 9, 2024

Follow this notice

Decision summary

A decision was made on October 10, 2025 to approve the City of Burlington Official Plan Amendment 2, as adopted by By-law No. 45-2024, with modifications. The approved Official Plan Amendment 2 amends the text and schedules of the existing Burlington Official Plan 2020 to direct future development within three Protected Major Transit Station Areas.

Location details

Site location details

City of Burlington

View these locations on a map:

Appleby GO Station - Google Maps

Burlington GO Station - Google Maps

Aldershot GO Station - Google Maps

Site location map

The location pin reflects the approximate area where environmental activity is taking place.

View this location on a map opens link in a new window

Proponent(s)

City of Burlington
426 Brant Street, PO Box 5013
Burlington, ON
L7R 3Z6
Canada

Decision details

A decision was made on October 10, 2025 to approve the City of Burlington Official Plan Amendment 2, adopted pursuant to section 17 of the Planning Act by By-law No. 45-2024, with 54 modifications. The giving of notice of this decision was completed on October 10, 2025. 

The adopted Official Plan Amendment was reviewed for consistency with the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 and conformity with provincial plans, and to ensure regard to matters of provincial interest set out in the Planning Act. 

Official Plan Amendment 2 amends policies and schedules of the Burlington Official Plan 2020 to direct future development within three Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) in Burlington: Downtown Burlington Urban Growth Centre/ Burlington GO, the Aldershot GO, and the Appleby GO station areas. The Official Plan Amendment also enables the City to implement a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) within the three PMTSAs.  

54 modifications have been made by the Minister to ensure that the Official Plan Amendment 2 is consistent with the policies of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024, conforms with applicable provincial plans and complies with applicable legislation. 

Pursuant to subsection 17 (36.1.4) of the Planning Act, policies within Official Plan Amendment 2 are sheltered from appeal where they identify the following: 

  • Number of residents and jobs, collectively, per hectare that are planned to be accommodated within a PMTSA.
  • Authorized uses of land and building/structures within a PMTSA.
  • Minimum and maximum densities authorized with respect to buildings and structures on lands within a PMTSA. 

As per the Notice of Decision attached, a decision was made on October 10, 2025. Due to a technical issue in posting this notice, the October 14, 2025 date noted in the ERO notice is incorrect. Therefore, you have 20 calendar days from October 10, 2025, until October 30, 2025, to begin an appeal process. Please refer to the Notice of Decision for more details.

Comments received

Through the registry

2

By email

4

By mail

0
View comments submitted through the registry

Effects of consultation

As a result of public consultation on the City of Burlington Official Plan Amendment 2, the Ministry received a total of 2 comments through the Environmental Registry of Ontario, and 4 additional comments through emails to Ministry staff. 

The comments received through the public consultation process were received from landowners or landowner representatives seeking site specific amendments, as well as from the City of Burlington requesting modifications to Official Plan Amendment 2. 

All comments reviewed were taken into consideration, prior to the decision being made. 

Supporting materials

Related filesClick to Expand Accordion
 
City of Burlington Official Plan Amendment 2 - Notice of Decision
pdf 103.96 KB
City of Burlington Official Plan Amendment 2 - Decision
pdf 2.75 MB

Related linksClick to Expand Accordion

View materials in person

Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.

Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

Municipal Services Office - Central Ontario
Address

16th floor
777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON
M7A 2J3
Canada

Office phone number
1-800-668-0230

How to Appeal

This instrument decision can be appealed. You have 20 days from October 14, 2025 to begin the appeal process.

Carefully review the information below to learn more about the appeal process.

How to appealClick to Expand Accordion

Start the process to appeal

You can appeal all or part of this this instrument to the appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) by submitting a notice of appeal to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

There is an additional “leave to appeal” right under the Environmental Bill of Rights.

Who can appeal

A notice of appeal can be submitted by:

  • individuals
  • corporations
  • public bodies

A notice of appeal can’t be submitted by:

  • an unincorporated association
  • an unincorporated group

You can, however, submit a notice of appeal as a member of the unincorporated association or group.

You have to have made an oral submission at a public meeting or a written submission to the council before the official plan amendment was adopted. Note: this is not required if you are appealing a proposal for provisional consent (no official plan in place).

Notice of appeal

Your notice of appeal must include:

  • the specific part, or parts of the official plan amendment that you wish to appeal
  • the reasons for your appeal
  • the appeal fee, payable by certified cheque or money order to the Minister of Finance, Province of Ontario

Note: appeal fees and options for reductions are outlined in the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal’s fee chart.

Mail your notice of appeal

Send your notice of appeal to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing via the ‘issuing authority’ contact listed below.

Send a copy of your notice of appeal to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. You can provide notice by email at minister.mecp@ontario.ca or by mail at:

College Park
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON
M7A 2J3


Issuing authority
Sean Fraser
Assistant Deputy Minister

Municipal Services Division
777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON
M7A 2J3
Canada

416-325-5799

Proponent(s)

City of Burlington
426 Brant Street, PO Box 5013
Burlington, ON
L7R 3Z6
Canada


Appellate body

Registrar, Ontario Land Tribunal
655 Bay Street, Suite 1500
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1E5
(416) 212-6349
(866) 448-2248
OLT.Registrar@ontario.ca

About the Ontario Land Tribunal


Include the following:

ERO number
019-8978
Ministry reference number
24-OP-249954

This is not legal advice. Please refer to the Environmental Bill of Rights for exact legal requirements. Consult a lawyer if you need help with the appeal process.

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Original proposal

ERO number
019-8978
Ministry reference number
24-OP-249954
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Proposal posted

Comment period

July 26, 2024 - September 9, 2024 (45 days)

Proposal details

On June 27, 2024, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing received for a decision the City of Burlington’s proposed Official Plan Amendment (OPA) No. 2 (By-law 45-2024), which was adopted by the City’s Council on June 18, 2024.

The More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) made changes that will when in effect remove statutory powers under the Planning Act from seven upper-tier municipalities identified in the legislation. The effective date for Halton Region is July 1, 2024. As such, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is now the approval authority for official plans and official plan amendments for lower-tier municipalities in Halton Region.

The Ministry will review the matter for consistency and conformity with applicable provincial land use policies and plans and will consider all feedback received before presenting any potential modifications to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for a decision in accordance with section 17 of the Planning Act.

The proposed OPA No. 2 contains detailed land use policies to support implementation of Protected Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) in three locations in the City of Burlington. If approved, the proposed amendment would apply to all lands within the three Protected MTSAs.

If approved, proposed OPA No. 2 will apply to the following areas:

Burlington Urban Growth Centre/Burlington GO Major Transit Station Area:

Lands within an approximate 800m radius of the Burlington GO Station, as shown on Attachment 1 to OPA No. 2.

Aldershot GO Major Transit Station Area:

Lands within an approximate 800m radius of the Aldershot GO Station, as shown on Attachment 2 to OPA No. 2.

Appleby GO Major Transit Station Area:

Lands within an approximate 800m radius of the Appleby GO Station, as shown on Attachment 3 to OPA No. 2.

The proposed OPA No. 2 outlines policies which, if approved, would allow the City to implement a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) within the Protected MTSAs. The CPPS policies would provide guidance and requirements for density targets, complete communities, a range and mix of housing options (e.g., affordable housing requirements), among other matters.

Supporting materials

Related filesClick to Expand Accordion
 
Notice of Adoption
pdf 155.45 KB
Adopted Official Plan Amendment No. 2
pdf 5.09 MB

Related linksClick to Expand Accordion

View materials in person

Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.

Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

Comment

Commenting is now closed.

This consultation was open from July 26, 2024
to September 9, 2024

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