By Staff
February 22, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
MAD executives met with MPP Matthew Rae (Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing), Hannah Anderson (Director of Stakeholder and Caucus relations), MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos, and Millcroft Greenspace Alliance to encourage the Minister of Housing, MPP Paul Calandra, to issue a Minister’s Zoning Order to stop the Millcroft Greens development on the Millcroft Golf Course lands, or, alternatively, to participate with a provincial interest at the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing starting on March 5.
MAD provided a detailed report outlining the reasons why this development must not proceed, along with our flood and wildlife Google drive files and Community videos.
Millcroft Greenspace Alliance expanded on the stormwater issues.
We would like to thank MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos for her strong support, as well as for setting up this meeting. Effie encouraged MPP Rae to use any tools in their toolbox to stop this development.
While we are hopeful that the Province will take action, we must be prepared to participate at the OLT hearing starting March 5. To this end, Allan Ramsay, the planner MAD has hired to represent them at the OLT hearing, has submitted a Reply Witness Statement in response to the new material provided by Millcroft Greens.
In a media release MAD said: “Now that we are closer to the OLT hearings and our professional advisors have provided us with more certainty in our strategy, MAD has developed a revised budget, which requires that we increase our fundraising goal from $40,000 to $70,000. The key reasons for the increase are:
Many feel, and their is evidence to support their concern that property values could decrease by 20% if the Millcroft Greens development is allowed to proceed.
“For Allan to complete the reply witness statement and respond to the City of Burlington draft plan conditions.
“For Allan to attend Millcroft Greens’ expert witness testimonies and all other parties’ witnesses that precede him.
“For the increased costs related to Allan Ramsay’s revised witness statement.”
The meeting that MAD was able to set up is something Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said she could get done many months ago.
The support from City Council on this file has been very thin.
Related news story.
Mayor says she can get the problem solved.
Pretty sad, that homeowners have to fund this fight out of their own pockets to the tune of $70,000. In a world where we have a level playing field, owners would be protected by legislation, or the city’s master plan, etc., etc., but apparently not. Big money and deep pockets create a less than level playing field. This is why we ended up with a tall building in the downtown area no one wanted because it was near a bus station that had been wrongly designated as a Mobility Hub. The aftershock of that decision can be seen in how our downtown has changed and not for the better since that decision. Changing the use of these lands will do little for intensification but will spoil forever what was a well-planned neighborhood.