Revised notice of passing for proposed Official Plan Amendment for town-wide, town-initiated file number 52.57.03

On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, Town Council passed by-laws 2024-143, 2024-244 and 2024-145, which adopted Official Plan Amendment 068, 332 and 333, respectively, under section 17(23), of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended. Official Plan Amendment 332 was adopted as modified by Council at the meeting. 

The purpose and effect of Official Plan Amendment 068, 332 as modified and 333 will be to implement town-initiated Official Plan Amendments (OPA) recommended to the Town of Oakville Planning and Development Council. The purpose of the OPAs is to preserve the town’s protected employment areas pending completion of an employment area review that informs how the town will implement the provincial direction regarding employment areas. Council’s modifications to OPA 332 exempted the lands municipally known as 65, 71, 77*, 83 and 89 Loyalist Trail from being considered an “area of employment” as defined in subsection 1(1) of the Planning Act under the revised policies of the Official Plan. 

Without the OPAs as proposed, the town’s employment areas could be reduced through individual, piecemeal processes outside of a town-initiated, comprehensive process that may impact the town’s long-term employment land needs.

As adopted, the proposed OPAs will:

• Restrict uses that are excluded from the new definition for “area of employment” in the Planning Act, i.e., institutional and commercial uses, within the town's official plan policies for employment areas after October 20, 2024;
• Allow lands occupied by uses within the town’s employment areas that are excluded from the new definition for “area of employment” in the Planning Act to continue as “areas of employment”, so long as they were “lawfully established" prior to October 20, 2024; 
• As it relates to lands within the town's employment areas, allow the application of policies related to conversion of employment lands under Section 2.8.2.5 of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024; 
• As it relates to lands within the town’s employment areas, ensure continued restriction of appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal on council decisions related to applicant-initiated amendments on employment area conversions under subsections 22 (7.3) and 34 (11.0.5) of the Planning Act;
• Preserve the town’s employment areas as protected pending completion of an employment area review to determine long term employment land needs and only allow the reduction of employment areas through a comprehensive process;
• Allow the town to have regard in its long- and short-term planning decisions to provincial interests related to the provision of adequate employment opportunities, protection of the financial and economic well-being of the province and its municipalities, and the appropriate location of growth and development; and
• Ensure that the town’s employment areas that connect to employment areas within adjacent municipalities remain protected and any changes in land use are based on a coordinated and comprehensive review.

The proposed policies will apply to the town’s employment areas within:

• lands in the Employment Area designations of Office Employment, Business Employment, Industrial and Business Commercial in the Livable Oakville Plan; and
• lands designated as Employment District in the North Oakville East and West Secondary Plans (excluding 65, 71, 77, 83 and 89 Loyalist Trail).

These employment areas include swaths of land south of Highway 407; west and east of Highway 403; north and south of the Queen Elizabeth Way; and north and south of Royal Windsor Drive.

Council’s decision reflects that the comments from the public have been appropriately addressed.

Any appeals to the proposed official plan amendment must be filed with the Town Clerk, 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, ON, L6H 0H3, setting out the reasons for the appeal, and the specific part of the proposed official plan amendment to which the appeal applies; and must be accompanied by the fee required by the Ontario Land Tribunal. A copy of the appeal form is available from the Ontario Land Tribunal website.

The proposed official plan amendment is exempt from approval pursuant to Ontario Regulation 525/97 Exemption from Approval (Official Plan Amendments). The decision of the Town of Oakville Council is final if a notice of appeal is not received on or before the last day for filing a notice of appeal.

Only the individuals, corporations or public bodies identified in section 17(24) of the Planning Act may appeal a decision of the Town of Oakville Council to the Ontario Land Tribunal. 

No person or public body shall be added as a party to the hearing of the appeal unless, before the plan was adopted, the person or public body made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the council or, in the opinion of the Ontario Land Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.

The public may view planning documents and background material online by visiting the town's Provincial Changes to the Employment Areas page.

Questions may be directed to Amaraine Laven, Policy Planner, Planning and Development department at 905-845-6601, ext. 3551 (TTY 905-338-4200) or at amaraine.laven@oakville.ca. 

The personal information accompanying your submission is being collected under the authority of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended, and can form part of the public record which may be released to the public.

Last date for filing a notice of appeal: November 19, 2024.

*This Notice of Passing has been reissued to correct a typographical error in the address noted in the modifications to OPA 332 adopted by Council (and typographical errors in the Notice referencing OPA 322 instead of 332) regarding the lands municipally known as 65, 71, 77, 83 and 89 Loyalist Trail (deleting 73 and replacing with 77).