Let’s Talk Midtown: How We Grow Together
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
6:30-8:30 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m.
South Atrium, Oakville Town Hall
1225 Trafalgar Road
Join us for an evening of public consultation and conversation.
How do we grow our community together? What does sustainable and responsible growth for Oakville look like? On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, join us for an evening of community conversation about Oakville’s future and the vision for Midtown Oakville.
Midtown Oakville Committee of the Whole - November
November 14, 2023, 6:30 p.m.
Council Chambers
Midtown Oakville Committee of the Whole - December
December 12, 2023, 6:30 p.m.
Council Chambers
Where is Midtown
- Midtown is surrounded by a combination of natural and man-made boundaries.
- In the north, it begins just below the QEW highway.
- In the south, it’s bordered by Cornwall Road and the railway line.
- On the east side, it extends to Chartwell Road
- On the west side, it is surrounded by Sixteen Mile Creek.
- The program will cover a range of community building topics and key boundaries
Why we need Midtown
- The Greater Golden Horseshoe is one of the fastest growing regions in North America with the population forecasted to increase from 9.5 million to 14.9 million by 2051
- Oakville’s population expected to double by 2051
- The Province of Ontario requires that the town create more housing options for people over the next 30 years and beyond.
- There is a need to purposefully plan how our municipality grows.
Our planning process
- Midtown has been planned as an urban centre since 1999 and has been identified as an Urban Growth Centre in 2006
- Urban Growth Centres are intended to be a major focus of population and employment growth and investment in transit and other infrastructure.
- The current planning process is focused on updating Midtown policies to implement provincial direction, ensure effective growth management and community building opportunities
- Our growth management strategy intends to protect natural heritage, open space and cultural heritage, maintain the character of residential areas and direct growth to the town’s identified systems of centres nodes and corridors, in alignment with the approved urban structure which identifies where growth will occur.
- Work is underway with Town Council, staff, Oakville communities and the consultant team to update policies and implement the overall vision to guide growth in Midtown Oakville.
- We need the public’s help to implement of the vision, collaborate on what Midtown will look like as it grows, and help refine the design recommendations.
How to participate
- Sign up for our newsletter so that we can share project updates and invite you to upcoming public engagement opportunities.
- Over the next three years you can expect a range of public engagement, from larger in-person events and group meetings to community workshops and virtual consultation activities where you can participate online.
- In 2024 and 2025, there will be more opportunities for you to participate and help us develop technical guidelines, provide input on transportation, community energy plan, and other important planning topics for Midtown.
- Through the fall and into early 2024, there will be a number of opportunities for the community to join critical conversations and weigh in on how Midtown should grow.
- In late November and early December, we’ll be hosting a series of smaller community workshops to evaluate and help refine options.
- In early 2024, there will be an online consultation, so that the public can share their preferences on a way forward.
Who's involved
- The Town of Oakville has been leading this work and recently engaged a team of external consultants led by Jacobs (a professional services firm), who are advising on the Midtown Official Plan Amendment, the technical work, design guidelines, funding and financing strategies, public engagement and an implementation program for Midtown.
- The town, in conversation with the public, will help to shape the policy and technical guidelines that will become the backbone of Midtown Oakville. Through a public engagement process, the town and community will discuss:
- how to support growth in Oakville
- the approach to buildings and densities
- road and transit requirements
- how to integrate community amenities, parks, and open spaces to support Midtown Oakville’s existing and new residents
Timeline
- Midtown is a long-term investment in Oakville’s community.
- Over the next two years we’ll be finalizing the policy framework, the implementation program, and working alongside the community at every phase.
- The redevelopment itself has a long timeline — we’ll start to see some expansion in Midtown by 2031, continuing in phases through to 2051 and beyond.
Building heights
- Future buildings will range in height. Guidance for the height of buildings in Midtown will be an outcome of this process and will be related to the expectations for this area to be the place in Oakville for the tallest buildings and highest density development.
- Through careful design and planning, surrounding neighbourhoods can retain their character and heritage, while also creating more housing for future generations.
- This work can help to ensure that Midtown will become a walkable, livable community and destination with green spaces, gathering spaces and recreational spaces.
Traffic management
- Midtown’s vision prioritizes sustainability, building upon the town’s transportation options that will eventually reduce our reliance on private automobiles.
- The plan is to build a more connected community by expanding pedestrian, cycling and public transit infrastructure and ensuring that community amenities are within walking distance.
- By integrating land use and transportation and allocating space on our public roadways differently, Midtown will be a place that can support many modes of transportation.
- The Midtown Transportation Plan will focus on building a walkable, cycle/transit friendly community integrated with accessible transportation choices for all residents. It will address existing issues for residents, but also ensure mobility choices and new infrastructure is created that allows the community beyond Midtown to have easy access to this central hub.
Challenges/opportunities
- Midtown faces some challenges.
- The site is narrow with various owners and parcels of land at different phases of redevelopment.
- There are also physical barriers that include a hydro corridor, congested arterial roadways such as Trafalgar, and ravines that prevent easy crossing and access that impact the overall amount of land that can be developed within Midtown.
- The challenges are also opportunities for the natural landscapes to be integrated into the design of Midtown.
- There will be opportunities to integrate walkways, public spaces and connections into the Midtown vision in collaboration with the public.
- We will make the space more accessible, welcoming and enjoyable for all who visit or live in Midtown.
- Midtown is also an opportunity to create a vibrant mixed-use community destination on underused lands for everyone who lives or visits Oakville.
- It will help address the growing need for more types of housing and affordable housing choices.
- There’s the potential to prioritize sustainable, pedestrian-based, and connected neighbourhoods.
- There are opportunities to incorporate energy plans and green standards.
- Through Midtown, we can create more homes, jobs, education opportunities and cultural spaces for the entire community.
2023
October 2023
- A committee of the whole session was held on October 10
September 2023
- A Resident's Association interactive meeting was held on September 12 with presentation provided by the consulting team.
August 2023
- A committee of the whole session was held on August 24 to discuss the Midtown Implementation Program
- A Council session was held on August 15 to discuss the Joint Practices Planning Estimates with Halton Region
July 2023
- A committee of the whole session was held on July 18 to discuss the Midtown Implementation Program
May/June 2023
- Online survey (closed June 30)
- Special Planning & Development Council meeting on May 23, 2023
- We hosted a Public Information Session on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Town Hall to view policies, speak with town planners and have questions answered.
2022
June 2022
- The proposed Midtown OPA (dated May 12, 2022) was presented at the Planning and Development Council Meeting.
- Staff presentation slide deck (pdf)
- Draft proposed official plan amendment (May 12, 2022) (pdf)
2021
June 2021
- Midtown virtual public information session, June 28 (pdf)
- Video: June 22, 2021 Special Council Meeting
- Video: May 31, 2021 Special Council Meeting
March 2021
- Planning and Development Council hosted a statutory public meeting (via videoconference) on March 22 about a previous draft proposed OPA for Midtown Oakville based on the findings of the Midtown Oakville Growth Area Review to that point.
- Staff presentation slide deck for March 22, 2021 (pdf)
2018
May 2018 - Public information sessions
January 2018
Common questions and issues raised from Councillors and members of the public, last updated September 29, 2023.
