Ford Rhetoric vs Burlington Reality - Millcroft Greenspace Alliance urges people to write the Premier

By Staff

August 27th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

They are not going to give up or walk away from the fight to xxx – despite an Ontario Land Tribunal decision that went against the community.

In a media release Millcroft Greenspace Alliance reported: “Last week, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario met in Ottawa. As part of the program, Minister of Housing Paul Calandra announced that municipalities know best where to build homes. This statement echoes a statement by Premier Ford in the past. Yet despite these comments and the comment that Ford would not allow homes to be built on floodplains, the Minister of Housing continues to allow the Millcroft Greens development on the golf course stormwater green infrastructure. Again our community is asking: Why do Ford’s statements not apply to Millcroft?”

To recap the key events and timelines of this proposed development:

·    December 2020: Argo Development submitted its application to the City of Burlington.

·    November 7, 2022: First Case Management Conference held by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) following Argo’s formal appeal of the City’s non-decision.

·    December 2022: The Burlington City Council unanimously opposed the development application and committed to a resolution requesting that the Province intervene to stop the development.

·    January 2023: Local MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos facilitated a meeting between the City and the Ministry of Housing (MAH) to begin negotiations in this regard, however these talks were unsuccessful.

·    September 2023: The City passed a resolution which was submitted to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing formally requesting the intervention to stop development.

Daintry Klein represented the community at the Ontario Land Tribunal

·   February 16, 2024: Millcroft Greenspace Alliance (MGA) and MAD participated in a meeting with Ministry of Housing Officials to present our case, but no action was taken by the Province to intervene.

·    March 5, 2024: The Millcroft Greens OLT hearing commenced and continued for 16 days. During the OLT hearing, MGA made stormwater representations regarding climate change, stormwater guidelines, and management.

·    June 12, 2024: The OLT rendered its decision in favour of the developer acknowledging that the developer only had to meet the Provincial regulations for stormwater despite climate change and outdated guidelines.

·    August 2024: The City of Burlington made a second Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) request through a new procedure.

Signing a petition is simply not enough. We encourage everyone, including your friends and family to write to the Premier. This method worked in Whtiby.