City decides to formally ask the provincial government to issue an MZO for the Millcroft development

By Pepper Parr

June 17^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna

“This is now serious.”, said Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna as Council prepared to vote on a bylaw that will request the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing through its zoning order framework process to issue a ministerial zoning order to restrict the uses permitted on the remainder of the Millcroft golf course to those currently permitted by the City of Burlington zoning by law, and be it further resolved that the clerk forward the resolution to the Honorable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honorable Doug Downey, Attorney General, the Honorable Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Honorable Todd McCarthy, Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks.

Send the request to Halton, MPPs, Halton, local municipalities and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for their information.

Millcroft – a community in the middle of a golf course.

Trees have been cut down as the developer gets ready to build the 98 new homes on what has been golf course property.

At this point, some of the damage the community feared has already been done.

The matter has gone to the Ontario Land Tribunal where the city lost their argument.

The approval given by the Tribunal had a number of conditions that have to be met.  They are complex and difficult to understand.

The provincial legislature is in recess until the fall.

The City Tree bylaw is in place – no one is certain that the developer, Millcroft Greens, will adhere to that by law.

Biggest community organization

The two local community organizations, Millcroft Against Development (MAD) and the Millcroft Green Alliance may feel that the city is finally on their side.

Community organization that took part in the Tribunal hearing.

The developer

The opportunity to get an MZO in place existed a number of years ago – at this stage the province would be looking at a serious civil suit from the developer.

Issuing an MZO before the matter went to the Land Tribunal is what should have been done.

It was always messy – city council failed the residents of the community and may have destroyed what has been a lovely place to live.