By Pepper Parr
April 30th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington matters have kept the Ontario Land Tribunal busy.
The Millcroft golf course hearing came to an end; they now wait for a decision. Each of the two community associations that were parties to the hearing have reported on the experience.
The Millcroft hearing had two members hearing the arguments. The people who serve as the deciders; will produce a report that will outline the issues and what they decided. They are referred to as “members”. We will follow up with that later this week.
The Waterfront Hotel site redevelopment hearing is underway. It is scheduled to run through to the middle of May.
Waterfront Hotel today.
Proposed development for the hotel site
An interesting difference with this hearing. There is just the one member hearing the case and she is not a lawyer. She is a former planner and has been with the OLT for just over a year; appointed August 9th, 2023.
Sharon L. Dionne is a planning and land development professional with over 30 years of experience, having worked in both planning consulting and in senior roles for Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Builder/Developers. Prior to joining the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), Ms. Dionne held the position of Vice President, Land Development for a GTA Builder/Developer.
Sharon L. Dionne: Member, Ontario Land Tribunal.
Dionne has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies, Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) from the University of Waterloo a
She is a Registered Professional Planner (RPP), and long standing member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI).
Her employment background:
Ballymore Homes for eight years;
Runnymede Development Corporation, 4 years 6 months
TRIBUTE COMMUNITIES, almost two years
Past Chair, Durham Chapter of Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)
Past Chair, Town of Ajax Committee of Adjustment.
Assuming the development gets approved by the Tribunal, set out below are what the city skyline will look like from different Brant Street locations. It is far too early to tell how this hearing might decide – the lawyers representing the city did very well on the first day.
Plan B, the citizens organizations that follows the plans to re-develop the Waterfront hotel see the planning background and not a legal background as a plus.
Related news story:
Day 1 of the hearing – the city position.
We do not need another condo in Burlington. Plains road is the area for new development. There is more than enough traffic in Burlington and the city is being ruined by development. There is really no downtown left. Oakville has a down town and kept development out. Be strong, don’t give in; get a few good lawyers who won’t back down.