By Staff
October 11th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Millcroft Greenspace Alliance, a local community association, is appealing to the Doug Ford government to honour its commitment(1) to prevent all building on floodplains by voiding a developer’s application to build homes on zoned open space designated for flood protection in Burlington.
At issue is an application from local developer Argo Development Corporation (under the name Millcroft Greens), to build on portions of the existing open space currently occupied by the Millcroft Golf Course and which have been designated as floodplain lands by Conservation Halton. This area of the golf course forms an integral part of the Millcroft stormwater mitigation infrastructure, which is critical to the collection and drainage of stormwater throughout the community.
The design was ahead of its time.
“This design was ahead of its time and now with Climate Change, experts are recommending the integration of green infrastructure with traditional structures”, says Daintry Klein, President of Millcroft Greenspace Alliance. Ms. Klein references an Official Plan Amendment (No. 117) which was approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on February 27, 1986. The plan states “these lands [Millcroft Golf Course] will remain as permanent open space, since portions of these lands contain creek features which are part of the stormwater management system for the Community”
The developer has appealed to the OLT (Ontario Land Tribunal) which favours developers “97 per cent of the time” according to The Hamilton Spectator.
Millcroft Greenspace Alliance supports the City of Burlington Council unanimous opposition to the proposal and resolution to request the province issue an MZO (Minister’s Zoning Order). This MZO would immediately halt the costly and time consuming effort for the City of Burlington, its residents and the Province. It would also exclude these designated lands from development and honour Premier Ford’s commitment not to build on floodplain lands.
Local residents have come together to protect their homes and the homes and businesses of their neighbours downstream from future flooding crises like the one that devastated Burlington in August 2014.
One of the unfortunate aspects of the fight the community is underwriting with their donations is that there are two organizations. For reasons that have never been clear the two cannot find a way to merge and become a common cause. Egos appear to have gotten in the way.
Many jurisdictions in Canada have and continue to allow building construction on flood plains. Frankly I find it both amusing and annoying that in recent years when fooding occurs in dome of these locations it is often immediately reported as
due to climate change.
I recall a major project in New Brunswick and dealing with civil engineers who were telling me how much of Fredricton including even the provincial legislature was built on s flood plain.
Perhaps we should dig up all the paved areas and revert to horse and buggy. We would be fine then. We will all have to give up our Teslas’s
If we can’t fill in with accomodations n some of these areas or develop approximately 1% of the green belt just where will these newcomers be housed by 2030? There is an upper limit to the number of 400 to 600 SF equally undesirable condominiums that can be built at the underutilized GO Stations.
NIMBY ism is alive and well.
to quote Dennis Miller
“a developer is someone who wants to build a home in the woods,
an environentalist is someone who already owns a home in the woods”
same could apply here, We in Millcroft own our homes, keep everyone else out.
The Millcroft Greenspace Alliance should take a leaf out of the initiatives underway in Oakville to hold the City and the developer accountable for development (or proposed development) on flood plains:
https://www.willdavidson.ca/practice-areas/class-action-lawyer/oakville-flood-risk-class-action/
If developers insist on overbuilding then they should be held accountable for damages, and the City or even the province should be held accountable for permitting it.
The GTA is overbuilt as it is. This idiot Premier can’t get it through his thick skull that without serious controls on development we will end up like Houston, Texas where overbuilding has caused massive flooding issues.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/31/us/houston-harvey-flooding-urban-planning/index.html