Following Council's unanimous aproval of the Midtown OPA on February 18th, We Love Oakville today issue the following News Release.
WE LOVE OAKVILLE CALLS ON PROVINCIAL CANDIDATES TO CANCEL INFRASTRUCTURE ONTARIO PROJECT AND COMMIT TO TOWN’S VISION FOR REDEVELOPMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 19, 2025
OAKVILLE – Yesterday, Oakville’s Town Council approved a new Official Plan Amendment (OPA) for Midtown Oakville, a 103-hectare underutilized site that surrounds the Oakville GO station. The OPA establishes a clear, high-density yet livable framework for growth, streamlines approvals through Community Permit Planning, and ensures a transparent exchange of community benefits.
We Love Oakville (WLO), which includes 12 residents associations and over 5000 Oakville residents, fully supports the approved OPA as it satisfies both provincial requirements and Ontario’s Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) goals. The OPA provides an unique opportunity for the province to integrate Infrastructure Ontario’s Oakville TOC with the OPA, thereby eliminating duplication, redundancy, unnecessary costs, and addressing serious concerns raised Oakville residents.
“The approval of the OPA for Midtown provides a unique opportunity to implement a holistic vision for Oakville that delivers the housing we critically need, and the creation of a vibrant and livable community for families around an important transit hub,” said George Niblock, WLO spokesperson and Oakville businessman. “It’s a win-win for everyone, including the province, and it keeps control of Midtown’s planning where it belongs: with the Town of Oakville, not Queen’s Park.”
The approved OPA is a sharp contrast with Infrastructure Ontario’s draft Transit Oriented Community (TOC) plan which proposes to jam 11 high rise Towers of 44-58 stories on 5 hectares of land creating an overwhelming level of density in Midtown.
Mayor Burton, Town Council, the Town’s planning department, WLO, and the public are all strongly opposing the province’s TOC proposal as not just unacceptable but undermining local decision-making.
Today, WLO is sending an open letter to Oakville’s political candidates asking them to publicly state their answers to three important questions:
Will you support the Town’s OPA that was approved on February 18, 2025?
If elected, will you strongly advocate for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to swiftly approve the OPA across all of Midtown, without any carve outs, exceptions or exemptions for individual developers; and
That you support either abandonment of the TOC initiative for Oakville or the alignment of the TOC in all respects with this OPA to ensure there is cohesive, consistent, and comprehensive planning for Midtown.
“These are reasonable questions on a critically important issue to our community. Oakville voters deserve clear and unambiguous answers from our candidates” says Jim Goodfellow, WLO spokesperson.
About We Love Oakville
We Love Oakville (WLO) was established in 2019 and is a non-partisan grassroots organization comprising residents associations throughout Oakville. For more information on We Love Oakville and our Stop The TOC campaign visit www.weloveoakville.org or contact Mr. George Niblock, Mr. Jim Goodfellow or Ms Amanda Holden.