Midtown at a Crossroads: Seven Tests for the Refined TOC

The revised TOC is coming. Oakville cannot afford to be caught unprepared. This is too important.

First released in November 2024, Oakville’s TOC (Transit-Oriented Community) is a provincially led, four-site development around Oakville GO Station. On April 9, 2026, the Province issued four MZOs  approving 11 high rise towers with more than 6,800 homes in buildings up to 56 storeys. But then, in the same news release, it announced further refinements that would limit heights to 38 storeys while maintaining the overall number of homes and community benefits.

The Province is expected to submit its revised Oakville TOC proposal to the newly elected Town Council. WLO is taking pre-emptive action now, so we are ready to conduct a rapid, rigorous and objective assessment the moment it is released. We are not prejudging the outcome, but we are preparing for all possibilities.

WLO has developed Seven Key Tests (details below) to assess whether the revised proposal delivers what Midtown and Oakville need, or simply repackages the same fundamental flaws and problems. The tests provide a clear framework for evaluating the proposal and determining what action Oakville should take.

The proposal itself is only part of the assessment equation. Transparency is critical. Will Council and the public receive a complete plan, have enough time to assess it and have a meaningful opportunity to present their views to their elected representatives? With a new Council taking office, full transparency and adequate time for informed review are essential.

No more secrecy. No unnecessary in-camera meetings or confidentiality agreements. Planning discussions and negotiations on the revised TOC may occur privately, but Council’s decision on Midtown’s future must be made in the open, with meaningful public input.

Please review WLO’s Seven Key Tests, and if you have any comments, thoughts, or suggestions, please drop us a note at weloveoakville@gmail.com

Stay tuned. We will keep you posted as things develop.

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Seven Tests for the Refined TOC

The Province has committed to refine the Oakville TOC by reducing building heights to 38 storeys while maintaining the overall number of homes and community benefits. A newly elected Oakville Council is expected to consider the revised proposal this fall.

WLO believes the principles and criteria for evaluating the revised proposal must be established before the Province presents it. The Province should not define the debate simply by announcing certain changes to the existing TOC.

WLO will assess any revised proposal objectively, rigorously and constructively, sharing its findings with elected representatives. We insist on full transparency: no in-camera meetings, and full public meetings with all stakeholders and residents before decisions are made. With the condominium market still in a state of collapse, there is time to do this right.

Reducing building heights alone does not necessarily make a development acceptable or better. If the Province intends to maintain substantially the same number of homes at reduced building heights of 38 storeys, then seven critical tests must be met.

1. Does it meet the Province’s commitment to reduce heights to 38 storeys?

The Province stated in its April 9th news release that “In response to feedback received from the town and the community, Ontario is working with the municipality and impacted partners on further refinements to the Oakville TOC that will result in building heights of 38 storeys, while maintaining the overall number of homes and community benefits.”

Are all buildings limited to 38 storeys? What is the mix of units and projected population based on the mix of unit types?  What community benefits are being preserved?  What if any, other contributions or advancement of infrastructure are being made?

2. Is the resulting density consistent with OPA 70 ?

WLO has consistently argued that density, not building height, is the critical planning issue. Town planning staff analyzed the original TOC and concluded that “density of development beyond Town’s draft OPA allocation is not justified.”

The question is not simply whether the same number of homes can be accommodated in shorter buildings. It is whether the resulting density, considering the amount of additional land to be added to the TOC, is acceptable for the developable land area.  WLO believes a reasonable benchmark for assessing whether the resulting density is appropriate or not is a comparison with 420 South Service Road, which aligns with OPA (Official Plan Amendment) 70, and received unanimous council approval.

3. In the expanded TOC footprint, has an appropriate amount of land been allocated for parks?

WLO estimates that approximately 13.5 hectares, nearly three times the current TOC footprint ( 5 hectares), would be required to accommodate roughly the same number of homes at a comparable density consistent with 420 South Service Road.  How much does the TOC footprint  Is being expanded?  How much of the total TOC land will be allocated to parkland? For comparison, at the approved development at 420 South Service Road, 2.7 of its 11 hectares are dedicated to parkland.

4. If publicly owned land is included in the revised TOC, are its proposed uses and the terms and conditions governing its transfer and use appropriate and in the public interest?

Will public land be involved? If so, what value has been attributed to it, how is that value determined, who benefits, and who bears the costs and risks?

WLO opposes transferring Town-owned land to enable the TOC developer to preserve its proposed 6,881 homes and profit objectives while reducing building heights to 38 storeys.  Any use of Town-owned land must deliver a clear, demonstrable benefit to Oakville taxpayers. WLO believes Council should ensure Town-owned land is used for parks in Midtown Will the Province ensure conceptual parks in OPA 70 on Metrolinx land are firmly committed to and by what date?

5. Will this revised TOC proposal create a complete community?

Will sufficient parkland, transportation infrastructure, schools, childcare, recreation, libraries and other amenities be provided to support the proposed population in the refined proposal? What is the phasing timing to deliver these? Have these essential needs been assessed, or is the responsibility and costs being left to others, particularly Oakville taxpayers, to resolve?

6. Have the Development and Site Plan Applications, including Planning Justification Reports prepared for the original TOC, been revised, updated and provided to Council and the public?

Increasing the size of the TOC footprint, perhaps more than doubling it, is not a minor refinement. It is a major restructuring of the project with significant implications for the development of Midtown. Before being asked to approve a revised TOC, Council, WLO and the public must receive updated Development and Site Planning Applications including full Planning Justification Reports that address the matters outlined in the Town’s Development Application Guidelines. 

7. Will the revised TOC deliver meaningful benefits to Midtown and Oakville?

Town planning staff concluded with respect to the original TOC:

“Overall, the TOC proposal appears as a private development proposal with very little to no community benefit for either the Town or the Province.”

Simply lowering buildings and rearranging homes does not, in itself, resolve the fundamental planning concerns identified by Town staff and WLO. What, specifically in this proposal, has been added or changed that will transform the original TOC into a proposal that delivers meaningful, demonstrable benefits for  Midtown,  Oakville and the Province?

The Way Forward: OPA70

Oakville Council unanimously approved Official Plan Amendment 70 on February 18, 2025, following years of planning, technical analysis and public consultation. It has been awaiting approval from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing ever since.

The objective of this exercise must be to make Midtown work as a whole, not to negotiate a deal that makes the TOC work in isolation.

If the revised TOC proposal falls short of the seven tests, the answer is not to revert to the original TOC, but to pursue a better solution that delivers demonstrable public benefits within Midtown and fits within a coherent, Town-approved vision for Midtown.

The Town of Oakville has a track record of delivering approvals for housing in Midtown, with the Council unanimously approving the 420 South Service Road development and can continue to deliver a Midtown that meets all provincially mandated requirements for transit-oriented housing in a responsible manner with a vision for a complete community.

The win-win solution for the Province, the Town and the community:

1

Province to revoke the four Ministerial Orders for the Oakville TOC

2

Province to approve OPA 70 without further delay

3

Province to return Midtown planning to Oakville under OPA 70