The Downtown Burlington Mobility Hub is a provincially and locally recognized Mobility Hub centred around the John Street Bus Terminal. The Downtown Mobility Hub study area boundary is comprised of a combination of the Urban Growth Centre and Official Plan precinct boundaries.
Given Council’s focus on the re-examination of the adopted Official Plan and the Interim Control Bylaw, passed on March 25, 2019, work on the Mobility Hubs, including the development of the Downtown Mobility Hub Area Specific Plan (secondary plan), has been placed on hold.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed their ideas and feedback to this initiative so far.
Subscribe to this web page to be advised of updates when the study resumes.
Please read on to learn more about the re-examination of the adopted Official Plan and the Interim Control Bylaw.
On March 18, 2019, a workshop was held to obtain feedback from Burlington City Council about the scope of the work that will be undertaken in re-examining Burlington’s adopted Official Plan. Through the discussion, it was identified that while Council supports many of the policies in the adopted Official Plan, an area that requires targeted reconsideration is the Downtown Precinct Plan.
With this area identified, City staff presented report PB-47-19, Work Plan for the Scoped Re-examination of the Adopted Official Plan, to Burlington City Council at the May 21 meeting of the Planning and Development Committee. The report identifies details of the work and timing that needs to take place to bring modified policies back to Burlington City Council for approval by March 2020. Report PB-47-19 was approved by Burlington City Council at its meeting on May 27, 2019.
Designing an Engagement Plan
To assist in the creation of a community engagement plan for the re-examination of the adopted Official Plan, a Committee of the Whole workshop will be held on June 11, 2019. This educational workshop for Council is open to the public, however no delegations will be heard.
A live webcast of the meeting will be available online on the City of Burlington’s calendar.
Details for the Committee of the Whole workshop:
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
10 to 2 p.m.
City Hall, 426 Brant St.
Council Chambers, second floor
If you would like to stay up to date on the latest news and opportunities to take part in the re-examination of the adopted Official Plan, please subscribe to www.getinvolvedburlington.ca
On March 5, 2019, Burlington City Council voted in favour of a staff report recommending an interim control bylaw (ICBL). The ICBL temporarily restricts the development of lands within a study area for a period of one year, with a maximum extension of a second year.
The lands in the ICBL study area approved by City Council includes the Downtown Urban Growth Centre (UGC) and lands in proximity to the Burlington GO Station. Work for this study will be completed at the same time as the re-examination of the Official Plan and their findings may inform each other.
During the one-year “freeze” on development in the study area, the City will complete a land use study to:
For more information on the ICBL Land Use Study, please visit http://www.burlington.ca/icbl
Public consultation and engagement for the Downtown Mobility Hub began in April 2017.
Feedback gathered during these events helped to inform the development of the Downtown Mobility Hub Precinct Plan (from April 2018 adopted Official Plan).
See below to read more about on each stage of enagagement, including links to presentation materials and summaries of public feedback.
April 2017 - Visioning |
On April 20, 2017, approximately 70 people attended a public meeting to talk about their vision for the future of Downtown Burlington.
|
June 2017 - Draft Concepts |
On June 21, 2017, approximately 70 people attended the second public meeting for the Downtown Burlington Mobility Hub. The city and consultant Brook McIlroy presented two draft hub concepts exploring where height could be located and what form it could take. A workshop was held where we asked the community what they liked about the concepts and how they felt they could be improved. Following this public meeting, the city held a series of drop-in open houses where we continued to hear from stakeholder groups and the public about the concepts.
The following material was prepared in response to the public input received to help continue the conversation around growth in the Downtown Mobility Hub. [DISCLAIMER: The following information is intended for discussion purposes only. The images represent a conceptual depiction of how growth could be facilitated in the downtown, modeling potential heights at a block level, and may assume some land assembly. The concepts will be subject to further modification pending the outcome of community consultation and various technical studies (transportation, environment among others) which will inform the development of a final recommended land use concept for the downtown.]
|
September 2017 - Draft New Precinct Plan Public Meeting |
On Thursday, Sept. 7, the city hosted a public meeting at Art Gallery of Burlington where the draft new Precinct Plan and key policy directions for the Downtown Mobility Hub were presented. Supporting Materials:
On Sept. 28, the draft new Downtown Mobility Hub Precinct Plan was presented to Council for discussion and feedback at a Council Workshop at the Committee of the Whole. |
November 2017 - Open Houses for Proposed New Downtown Precinct Plan |
Following the release of the proposed new Official Plan in November, the city held three drop-in open houses. The purpose of the drop-in sessions was to provide the public with the opportunity to review and discuss the proposed new Official Plan, including the proposed new Downtown Precinct Plan and associated policies for the Downtown Mobility Hub. The drop-in open houses were held on: Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Art Gallery of Burlington, Shoreline Room Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 1 - 3 p.m. City Hall, Room 247 Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Haber Community Centre, Community Room 1 - East
|
Nov. 30, 2017 - Proposed New Downtown Precinct Plan Statutory Public Meeting |
On Nov. 30, 2017, the proposed new Downtown Precinct Plan and associated policies for the Downtown Mobility Hub were presented to Burlington City Council within the proposed new Official Plan at the Planning and Development Committee meeting. The purpose of the statutory public meeting was to provide the public with the opportunity to provide comments to Council on the proposed new Official Plan.
|
January 2018 - Public Meeting regarding Supplementary Information and Directions Regarding the Proposed Downtown Mobility Hub Precinct Plan |
A recommendation report related to the downtown was presented to Burlington City Council at two sessions of the planning and development committee on Jan. 23 and 24, 2018. The report contained additional information requested by Council (e.g. background information regarding the Urban Growth Centre boundary; proposed heights compared to the existing in-effect heights in the current Official Plan; and potential redevelopment sites). Thirty five delegations were heard by Burlington City Council at the two sessions. As a result of the input received from the public at the meeting and through phones calls and emails, amendments to the proposed new Downtown Precinct Plan were made. Some of the amendments include:
These amendments have been reflected in the proposed new Downtown Precinct Plan map [February 2018]. Highlights of the plan and each precinct can be found here. Resources/Helpful Links
The followng conceptual streetscape and skyline renderings were completed as part of the Downtown Mobility Hub Planning Study process, as a visual tool to show examples of what various downtown streetscapes and the Burlington skyline could look like in the future based on the policy framework of the new Downtown Mobility Hub Precinct Plan. Note: These images are conceptual renderings and are for illustrative purposes only. The images do not represent any proposed development application, nor are they necessarily representative of the scale, height, density or design that would be supported by the City on a site-specific basis now, or in the future.
|
February 2018 - Burlington's Proposed New Official Plan: Open Houses and Statutory Public Meeting |
Burlington's Proposed New Official Plan: Open Houses and Statutory Public Meeting
The third version of Burlington's proposed new Official Plan (February 2018) was released on Feb. 7, 2018. This version contains revisions that were made as a result of feedback the city received at the Nov. 30, 2017 statutory public meeting, the Jan. 23, 24 and Feb. 6, 2018 public meetings, and through written submissions. The proposed new Official Plan also contains the proposed new Downtown Precinct Plan and associated polices, developed to-date, from the on-going Downtown Mobility Hub Area Specific planning study. The third version of Burlington's proposed new Official Plan [February 2018] is available on the new Official Plan web page: www.burlington.ca/newop The city held three open houses in Febraruy 2018 to provide the public with the opportunity to review, discuss the proposed new Official Plan and proposed new Downtown Precinct Plan with representatives of the city. Open Houses were held on the following dates: Monday, Feb. 12, 2018 6:30 to 8 p.m. Haber Community Centre, Community Room 2 - West 3040 Tim Dobbie Dr. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. City Hall, Council Chambers, Level 2 426 Brant St. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 6:30 to 8 p.m. City Hall, Room 247, Level 2 426 Brant St. The city also held a second Statutory Public Meeting on Feb. 27 and 28, 2018 to provide the public with the opportunity to provide comments to Burlington City Council on the proposed new Official Plan. Resources/Helpful Links
|
April 2018 - New Official Plan Adopted by Burlington City Council |
On Thursday, April 26, 2018, Burlington City Council adopted Grow Bold: Burlington Official Plan. A report recommending adoption of the plan was presented at a meeting of the Planning and Development Committee on April 24, 25 and 26, followed by a special meeting of City Council on April 26. The new Official Plan is now subject to review and approval by Halton Region. Until the plan is approved at the regional level of government, the City of Burlington’s current Official Plan remains in effect. The new Official Plan also contains the new Downtown Precinct Plan and associated polices, developed to-date, from the on-going Downtown Mobility Hub Area Specific planning study. Downtown Mobility Hub Precinct Map:
Development applications that are submitted before Regional approval will continue to be processed under the current in force and effect Official Plan (1994, as amended), but during the review of the application, the new Official Plan will inform land-use decisions, and staff will encourage applicants to consider the objectives and policies of the adopted new Official Plan. Once the plan is approved by Halton Region it may be appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. Revisions to policies in the new Official Plan, as directed by Council at the Planning and Development Committee meeting on April 24, 25 and 26, were incorporated into the Official Plan that was sent to Halton Region for approval. For more information and updates on the New Official Plan, please visit the New Official Plan Project website. |
To date, the following technical information is available for the Downtown Mobility Hub.
Please note that this information is under continuing study as part of the Downtown Mobility Hub Secondary Planning process and therefore subject to change.
If you have questions, comments or concerns about the Mobility Hubs Study and the Downtown Mobility Hub, please email us at mobilityhubs@burlington.ca or give us a call at 905-335-7600, ext. 7402.