City of Burlington moves to adjust downtown boundary

Published August 26, 2020 at 2:34 pm

Burlington City Council unanimously approved requesting the Region of Halton to adjust the boundary of the Downtown Urban Growth Centre (UGC).

Burlington City Council unanimously approved requesting the Region of Halton to adjust the boundary of the Downtown Urban Growth Centre (UGC).

Council is looking for the boundary to generally align with the lands in proximity to the Burlington GO Station and remove the Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) as a downtown designation.

“This is another milestone towards community-led control of development in our downtown and one more step to help us better manage growth in our city as a whole,” said Mayor Marianne Meed Ward 

“It’s not the last or only step, but a significant one as we continue moving forward towards ensuring our next stage of growth goes where it should.” 

The council approved recommendations are based on conclusions of recent planning studies that assessed the role and function of the downtown bus terminal and the Burlington GO station as MTSAs.

The city is requesting the Region to remove the Downtown MTSA designation and adjust the boundary of the Downtown Urban Growth Centre based on the following: 

  • The John Street bus terminal does not currently function as a major bus depot and is not anticipated to be more than the intercity transfer point in the future;
  • Adjusting the Downtown UGC boundary to align generally with lands in proximity to the Burlington GO Station will enable provincial, regional and city objectives to be met by focusing population and employment growth and amenity and infrastructure investment in an emerging transit supported area. 

“We look forward to continue this work with the Region and the Province to update Burlington’s Mobility hub designations and Major Transit Station Area designation for downtown Burlington,” said Ward 2 councillor Lisa Kearns.

“This is great for the residents of not only Ward 2 but for all residents of Burlington.”

In early 2020, the City of Burlington received a joint letter from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Ministry of Transportation stating that the Region of Halton, working together with the City of Burlington, can remove the identification of a mobility hub and the MTSA designation in Downtown Burlington.

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