 By Staff
August 26th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is investigating the Ford government’s handling of the Greenbelt after receiving a referral from the Ontario Provincial Police.
The RCMP has confirmed that it will be looking into “irregularities in the disposition of the Greenbelt surrounding Toronto.”
“We will review and assess the information received and will take appropriate action as deemed necessary,” the RCMP said in a statement. “As the investigation is in its infancy and is ongoing, we decline to offer any further comments.”
The news comes two weeks after a scathing report from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found that the manner in which the provincial government chose to remove land from the Greenbelt was “not transparent, objective, or fully informed,” and showed “preferential treatment” to certain developers.
The 95-page report found that Ryan Amato, Housing Minister Steve Clark’s Chief of Staff, was heavily influenced by suggestions from developers as to which lands should be removed — of the 15 sites that were selected for removal, 14 were put forth by Amato.
Amato resigned on Tuesday. Ford has insisted that “no one had preferential treatment” in the land swap that will see 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt removed for housing development, and 9,400 acres of protected land added elsewhere.
Lysyk’s report made 15 recommendations, 14 of which the province has said it will move forward with. The one it will not implement is the recommendation to re-evaluate its decision to change the Greenbelt boundaries and open the land up to housing development.
 Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles standing in a field of soybean plants in the Greenbelt Photo courtesy NDP Marit Stiles, Leader of the New Democrast Opposition has to be given credit for writing the provincial Auditor General asking that there be a “value for money” review of the decisions the province made on Greenbelt properties.
When the report was made public Stiles did more digging and found that there were other people involved in providing information to the developers.
 Premier Doug Ford with Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Keeping a brave face. The Premier said “no one had preferential treatment” and the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs said he wasn’t aware of what his Chief of Staff was doing.
Someone is either really incompetent or has a very very long nose.
The public is hoping the Mounties prove to be very competent – which might be a stretch for some people.
Big question going into next week is – how much longer will Minister of Municipal Affairs Steve Clarke be in Cabinet?
Related news stories:
Premier gives his side of the story.
Tip sheet
 By Pepper Parr
August 22, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Would someone explain to the Premier of the province that municipalities do not build houses.
They approve developments and issue building permits when all the required conditions are met.
Some developers don’t like that process and take their case to the Ontario Land Tribunal holds things up for a couple of years and often, most of the time give the developer at least a part of what they want.
 Of the five categories only those waiting for site plan approval have an outcome determined by the city. Ford, under a lot of pressure is as a result of the Greenbelt land swaps announced a $1.2-billion fund to encourage municipalities to build more housing.
 Hopefully he will give them rubber stamps so they can put approval on development applications.
The announcement was made to delegates at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in London on Monday.
 The surprise move, was a new three-year, $1.2-billion “building faster fund” that would reward cities and towns that try to meet the housing construction targets the province has imposed upon them.
 This is a really dismal bit of information. “This new fund is an incentive program that supports municipalities to build more homes,” the premier said, citing Pickering, Vaughan and Brantford as examples that would receive increased cash for “infrastructure and community-building projects” because they are exceeding their mandates.
“Municipalities that reach 80 per cent of their target each year will become eligible for funding based on their share of the overall goal of 1.5 million homes,” he said, warning those failing to meet the 80 per cent threshold won’t qualify.
The Progressive Conservatives want to build those homes 2031, with Ford conceding it is an “ambitious” aim because this year there will be about 110,000 housing starts; well below the average of more than 150,000 that need to be constructed each year.
“It’d be the first time in over three decades that we surpassed the 100,000 threshold. From there, we’ll ramp up over time until we’re on track to build at least 1.5 million homes”, said Ford
 Do you see anything positive about these numbers? Municipal leaders welcomed the new funding, which comes as they are coping with reduced revenues from development charges that the province removed to spur construction of more affordable housing.
We have yet to hear a single municipal leader explain how the money is going to move the development applications any faster.
 By Pepper Parr
August 9th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
With less than a month to go in her term of office Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General for the province dropped a scathing 95 page report on what she saw is serious concerns about the exercises used, the way in which standard information gathering and decision protocols were sidelined and abandoned, and how changes to the Greenbelt were unnecessarily rushed thorough,”
She said the Ontario government’s process for choosing protected Greenbelt land to open up for housing development was heavily influenced by a small group of well-connected developers who now stand to make billions of dollars, the province’s auditor general says.
 Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk wasn’t buying whatever was being said. Lysyk offered a damning assessment of how the province selected sites last year for removal from the Greenbelt — a vast 810,000-hectare area of farmland, forest and wetland stretching from Niagara Falls to Peterborough that was meant to be off limits to development.
Lysyk found the selection process was largely controlled by Housing Minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff — not non-partisan public servants — and was also influenced by specific suggestions from developers with access to the chief of staff.
The process didn’t consider agricultural, environmental and financial impacts of the decision, and involved little input from non-political planning experts or other stakeholders, including the general public and Indigenous communities, according to the report.
“Our review … raises serious concerns about the exercises used, the way in which standard information gathering and decision protocols were sidelined and abandoned, and how changes to the Greenbelt were unnecessarily rushed thorough,” Lysyk said at a news conference at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.
 “The process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners who had timely access to the housing minister’s chief of staff.”
Lysyk didn’t name Clark’s chief of staff in the report, however, she later confirmed to reporters it is his current chief of staff. Ryan Amato is currently working in that role.
According to Lysyk, the chief of staff directed a small team of housing ministry bureaucrats in October 2022 who decided which sites would be removed. The work of the so-called “Greenbelt Project Team” was limited to three weeks and they were sworn to confidentiality, according to the report.
According to Lysyk’s report, Clark’s chief of staff identified 21 of the 22 sites the team considered. Ultimately, they settled on 15.
At a news conference later Wednesday, Ford acknowledged shortcomings with the process, but said the government would continue to do everything it can to address the province’s housing crisis.
“While we’ll never waver in our commitment to build more homes, we know there are areas for improvement as we move forward,” Ford said. “We were moving fast. We could have had a better process.”
Ford said his government would accept and implement 14 of the 15 total recommendations Lysyk made in her report. The single recommendation it will not accept is to revisit the land swaps and possibly reverse the decisions, he said.
 By Staff
August 9th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Auditor General issues a scathing report saying Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives “favoured certain developers” in a controversial Greenbelt land swap that could make the landowners $8.28 billion.
 Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk turned in her report – she also turns in her keys to the office on September 5th when her term of office comes to an end. Premier Doug Ford on the right. In a searing 93-page report to the legislature Wednesday, Bonnie Lysyk found Ford’s opening up of 7,400 acres of environmentally protected land last fall “cannot be described as a standard or defensible process.”
Lysyk said the Tories did not need the 15 parcels of land to achieve their promised target of building 1.5 million homes over the next decade to alleviate Ontario’s housing crisis.
Premier announces he will hold a Press Conference at 1:00 om.
 Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition Before he can get a word in Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition hammers the Premier saying:
“Let’s call this what it is: corruption. Ontarians deserve better than a government that enriches a select number of party donors at the expense of hard-working Ontarians,” said Stiles, after noting that the Ford government’s Greenbelt transferred $8.3 billion over to donors and developers.
“This is not about Mr. Ford, this is not about politics, this is about reinstating Ontarians’ trust in their government. Trust that this government has seriously eroded with their insider dealings and culture of corruption that goes all the way up to the Premier.”
Stiles and the Ontario NDP are calling to immediately remove Minister Steve Clark from Cabinet. Following the resignation, the Ontario NDP are calling to:
• Immediately recall the Legislature, to reverse course, and return these lands to the Greenbelt and cancel these deals with developers.
• And that this Conservative government not stand in the way of the Integrity Commissioner’s investigation, including any potential criminal investigations – because we know this is just beginning and the public deserve and to know everything.
By Pepper Parr
March 17th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Marit Stiles Leader of the Opposition The complaints sent to the provincial Integrity Commissioner by Marit Stiles Leader of the Opposition (there are two of them) are keeping the Commissioner busy. So much so that he has decided to put one in abeyance while he works on the other.
J. David Wake , the Integrity Commissioner said he is not prepared to dismiss Stiles’ second complaint “since there is an overlap to some extent with the issue being determined in her first request. Therefore I am placing it in abeyance until I have completed the investigation on the first.”
The second complaint was related to donations that were made to the “stag and doe” event for the Premier’s daughter.
The first complaint is related to the land swaps that were made in the Greenbelt area where there was a concern that developers were made aware of government plans before they were public.
 Premier with Steve Clarke, Minister of Municipal Affairs in the Legislature. In a newspaper report Wake said he has requested documents from government and non-government sources and is reviewing the material gathered so far. His final report will be made public, he said.
As long as the work being done isn’t dragged out for months the public interest will be met.
As for the first complaint the Integrity Commissioner has already said that “the gift rule … is very specific. It applies only to the member who receives the gift. It does not apply to gifts received from third parties to an adult child of the member or her spouse. Even the definition of ‘family’ in the act is restricted to the member, the member’s spouse and minor children.”
By Pepper Parr
February 11th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
It didn’t tale the new leader of the new Democrats in Ontario to make a mark on the politics of the province.
 Marit Stiles will take her seat at Queen’s Park on February 21st, and serve and serve as the Leader of the Opposition. The day she was confirmed as the leader of the party she was out on the streets of Hamilton doing some door to door campaigning.
The next day she released a statement reporting new revelations about Doug Ford’s relationships with Greenbelt developers.
The Toronto Star reported that:
Developers whose lands stand to benefit from recent provincial government decisions attended the premier’s daughter’s wedding — with some sitting at Premier Doug Ford’s table.
Sitting with Ford at Table 10, according to a picture of the reception’s seating plan, was Mario Cortellucci, whose family’s companies’ have benefitted from at least four minister’s zoning orders that fast-track development since Ford’s Progressive Conservatives came into power.
Also invited to the September wedding, according to the seating chart, was Shakir Rehmatullah — one of the developers who stands to benefit from the Ford government’s Greenbelt land swap. In November, a 102-acre parcel of Markham land he owns through his company Flato Upper Markham Village Inc. was removed from the Greenbelt to be developed.
On February 21st, the Legislature will reconvene and Stiles will take her seat and serve the public as Leader of the Opposition. The first couple of hours will give an indication as to what kind of leader she is going to be. Doug Ford’s political life might begin to change. Going to be worth watching.
Marit Stiles, Leader of the Ontario NDP, put out the following response:
“There’s mounting evidence that Ford’s cozy relationship with developers has crossed the line.
“These developers include the very people who directly benefited from the Ford government’s decision to carve up the Greenbelt and other special favours – what exactly were they talking about at that table?
“I will be immediately pursuing all options to get to the bottom of what exactly happened here. That includes submitting a further complaint with the Integrity Commissioner and ensuring all the facts that have now come to light are being considered.
“Ontarians deserve not just answers about Ford’s conduct, but a government with integrity that always puts their interests first. I am committed to making sure that they get both.”
The tally of complaints is beginning to pile up:
A complaint to Bonnie Lysyk, the Auditor General of Ontario
Two complaints to the Integrity Commissioner
And questions being asked by the OPP Rackets squad.
Related news story:
Several investigations are taking place.
“
By Pepper Parr
November 2nd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
So – there is a deal.
For reason that are not clear at this point the information was posted on the Get Involved portion of the city web site – where you could stumble upon it.
We will come back to that.
The city has signed a deal with the Halton District School Board to purchase the Bateman High School site.
 The Bateman site is now owned by the city. What will it be named? The transaction with the HDSB would see the City transfer ownership of approximately five acres of City owned land to the HDSB as a component of a land exchange for the Robert Bateman site. The City owned land in question is located near Central High School and includes the high school football field and running track.
The City has completed a purchase agreement and land exchange transaction with the Halton District School Board (HDSB) involving the Robert Bateman High School property. In the agreement, the City purchased the Bateman property for $29.6 million, while the HDSB purchased a City owned property near Burlington Central High School, which includes the high school football field and running track, for $21.7 million. The difference in price of $7.9 million will be debt financed, with annual debt payments recovered from the City’s capital reserve funds.
Both leases at Bateman are expected to be long term leases not to exceed 25 years.
This acquisition would push forward key objectives laid out in the City of Burlington’s 25-year strategic plan. Key pillars of this Plan include making Burlington a City that grows through attracting talent, good jobs and economic opportunity to the community.
Within the Bateman space, the HDSB will retain a long-term interest at the school to accommodate the Gary Allan Learning Centre. And as previously announced, Brock University will offer their Teachers Education and Applied Disabilities Studies Programs and will be developing professional and continuing studies specifically to the needs of Burlington.
In addition to the partnership with the HDSB and Brock University, the City has partnered with other institutions, ensuring that there is an adaptive reuse strategy for the Bateman site and to create a sustainable community hub which will include community rooms, a triple gym and the existing City pool.
The Burlington Public Library will relocate its Appleby Line branch to this location to develop a place for learning and education.
TechPlace will be located to the site.
 How far beyond the concept has the thinking gone? The city is now looking for residents’ feedback on a proposed land transaction with the Halton District School Board (HDSB) and leasing arrangements with the HDSB and Brock University for the City’s planned acquisition of the Robert Bateman High School building and property.
Public engagement will take place in early 2023 to seek community feedback on possible uses for the remaining space.
Feedback will also be sought on securing leases with the HDSB and Brock University for portions of the Bateman Site. The HDSB intends on leasing space back at Bateman for educational purposes. Brock University also seeks to lease space at Bateman for their long-term educational needs.
The Halton District School Board said in a media release that: “Securing the lands near Central High School in HDSB ownership has been consistent with the HDSB’s long term intention to continue operating Central as a school. This land exchange component will advance the City’s efforts to secure the Robert Bateman site in continued public ownership, ensuring that the Robert Bateman site is available for continued educational and community-oriented us
Back to the way the information was released to the public. Normally the city issues a media release and within hours the Mayor has a Statement lauding the decision that was made.
Recall that the decision to purchase the site was to be made public on September 30th. Why the delay to today? Because it might become an election issue?
There are some questions:
How much of the gymnasiums and the swimming pool time will be made available to the Brock University students?
Are the sports/recreational facilities going to be operated by the Parks, Recreation and Culture department?
Where did the $50 million price tag that Councillor Stolte revealed come from? The media release states that the difference after the land swaps is $7.9 million. Did Stolte just make up the $50 million number. Highly unlikely.
Which of the city’s capital reserve funds is going to be raided to get the $7.9 million. All we know is that taxpayers will replace the money.
And why was the news announced on the Get Involved portion of the city web site.
Now that the properties have changed hands – when do the renovations start – will the work be done in time to get the Brock University students in classrooms on the planned schedule. And by the way – what is that schedule?
 By Jeremy Skinner
June 5th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Much has been mentioned in the Gazette about the Bateman opportunity that is before us. I ask that each person who has contributed a comment thus far and are interested in the issue to respond by way of a comment to this article with your answers to the following two questions.
Question 1:
Do you believe that the City should acquire the Bateman property via a land swap which would enable the HDSB to acquire Wellington Park as part of their Burlington Central site?
If not, do you acknowledge the fact that the HDSB will likely be forced to sell the Bateman property to private as opposed to public interests? Note: Public access to Centennial Pool may be lost because it is owned by HDSB and operated by the City.
A lot of land and a lot of public interest. Question 2:
(Answer only if yes to question 1. ) What do you believe that the Bateman property along with or without existing 220,000 sq. ft. 2 storey building should be used for?
Consider the fact that the City has received multiple offers from potential tenants seeking long term leases to reside in Bateman. These include:
– Brock University who wishes to relocate their Faculty of Education from Hamilton;
– HDSB who wishes to relocate their Burlington Gary Allan Learning Centre from 3250 New St.;
– Burlington Public Library Appleby Branch who wishes to relocate from Appleby Square Plaza (which will soon undergo redevelopment).
– TechPlace who wishes to establish presence in the East Burlington business community; and
– a City Community Centre complete with gym and pool facilities.
The long term leases from these tenants will cover most, if not all, of the one-time costs required to enable necessary maintenance upgrades required to host these tenants. Think of the financing to that of seeking a mortgage to repair an existing owned house which has a long term revenue stream from multiple tenants.
So is the Bateman situation a mountain or a molehill? Share your answers to the two questions above by adding a comment to this article.
When Jeremy Skinner sent this in we weren’t sure if it was a good idea – then thought that it might be a good idea to let the readers ask the questions and see how other readers respond.
Take it as one of our engagement initiatives. We will work with what comes in and send it along to Council members.
By Pepper Parr
May 20th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
There is just something not quite right about the sale and purchase of the Bateman High School property.
It is monumentally expensive.
It brought about the sanctioning of a council member based on a complaint by two other Council members.
Councillor Stolte was docked five days’ pay for talking publicly about something that was discussed in a CLOSED session of Council – a no no in the municipal world.
Councillors Nisan and Galbraith filed a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner. The issue was related to comments about the sale of the Bateman high school property n property.
Then there is an announcement that there will be a land swap – the city would sell the sports field to the west of Central High school to the Halton District School Board – the proceeds of that sale would go towards paying for the Bateman property owned by the public Board of Education.
A Gazette reader sent us a couple of tweets that were sent yesterday.
 Here we have Lynne Crosby talking to someone with concerns and questions.. Civil enough But then the following appears.
 Were these meant to be assuring words? Is Councillor Sharman offside on this? He isn’t just a citizen with an opinion – he is a councillor with all kinds of inside information that a lot of people would like to hear him expand on.
Our faithful reader said: “My take is that the city has too much invested in this already to walk away. Look how they spent dollar after dollar for the pier to nowhere with no accessibility to the upper area for those who cannot walk up the stairs.
“Residents will never know the true cost of the Bateman project.
“Someone suggested to me that one of the reasons why so few people are entering the Municipal race is because they don’t want to have to work with our current Mayor, and presently no one is really challenging her.”
The social media types and their networks are going crazy over the Bateman high school and Central High school sports field matter. Amidst all this there is chatter over it all being a done deal
Don’t think it is a done deal and there might be a chance that it will fall apart.
By Pepper Parr
March 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The deadline for responses to the survey put out after the Waterfront Study virtual meeting that took place on February 22nd, was March 1st the last date they would be accepted.
 There are two things taking place with the area outlined in blue. The oldest activity is a study of the area outlined in blue which the city says has been ongoing since 2018 – it actually started way back in 2015 when the city had a Staff member doing some work on what would be possible and fit in with the Promenade and Spencer Smith Park when the owners of the Waterfront Hotel decided they were ready to redevelop the property. The area within the red boundary is the property owned by Darko Vranich . In August of 2021 he began the process of providing the City Planning department the information it would need to prepare a report for City Council which would decide to Approve the development, Not approve the development or approve a development with required changes. hotel site was ready. The report from the Planning department has to be before City Council and approved no later than April 17th of 2022 It was a very short survey; two questions – what did you think and where do you live.
 The X’s mark the land the city would take as permitted park land allowance. Shouldn’t have taken all that long to sift through the responses, pass them along to the consultants overseeing the study and share both the results of the survey and whatever the next step was going to be.
There was some interesting news shared during the DATE meeting – the most significant being that the city planned on taking a 20 metre wide piece of land from the west side of the site. The width would run from Lakeshore Road to the southern and of the the property line.
There doesn’t appear to be any sense of urgency about a study that is intended to “inform” the long term development that will take place. Wouldn’t the Hotel site development application, if approved, set the pattern for any development in the immediate area. No?
Related news stories:
A time line that didn’t work for the citizens.
What about a land swap
The Statutory meeting
 By Don Fletcher
January 13th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
An earlier version of this article included illustration that were out-dated. The illustrations have been revised.
We are pleased to learn from this update that Phase 4 of this study has restarted, and to understand somewhat why the study was placed on hold in mid-2018. Given that we’ve suffered through a pandemic over the last few years, it’s understandable why it wasn’t resumed earlier.
 A study on the best way to develop this area began in 2015. The delay in completing the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study as originally planned is still potentially problematic. In Section 3.3 of Bousfields’ Planning & Urban Design Rationale that was part of the Burlington 2020 Lakeshore Inc.’s development application submitted on October 26th, 2021, their rationale for requesting the removal of Policy 5.5.9.2(l) of the in-force Burlington OP, as amended, was that this study had an “indeterminate deadline” with a further characterization that it “has never been completed, indefinitely sterilizes the subject site from redevelopment and from achieving its highest and best use potential”. It is not clear to us whether the property owner ultimately plans to ignore the guidance of the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study, but it is clear that completing it on a highly accelerated basis must be a top priority.
Citizens’ PLAN B remains committed to the extension of Spencer Smith Park and the enhancement of the Brant Street gateway to Lake Ontario, through the application of the ‘Thin Red Line’ design principle related to the Waterfront Hotel Redevelopment. Yes, we understand the changing context of the NE corner of Brant Street & Lakeshore Road with respect to the origins of the ‘Thin Red Line’, but it still has great utility in its’ application to achieve what most residents want in the redevelopment of the Waterfront Hotel property and remains a simple concept that resonates with everyone.
 A citizens group – Plan B – introduced the concept of a thin red line. Will it be enough and will it ever be adhered to? We understand that City staff with support of project consultant, The Planning Partnership, will resume the work plan where it left off in 2018. This update references Section 3 of Report PB-23-18, which contains 16 key policy directions, as one of those milestones that can be built upon.
PLAN B fully supports PB-23-18.
Application of the ‘Thin Red Line’ will help fulfill Public Realm policy directions 5a, 7, 8 and 9, which in our opinion are not achieved in the current development application.
One deliverable that was not mentioned in this report but should also serve to expedite completion of the project is Emerging Preferred Concept #3. I have attached a Planning Partnership Jan/ Feb 2018 Overview/ Snapshot of its’ evolution for your reference, with some of the rationale for selecting EPC #3 noted there re-iterated below:
Achieves the Urban Design objectives for the Downtown
Achieves a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) that balances the base permissions of 5.0 with the Developer’s Current Concept of 7.5 FAR
Buildings located east of the ‘Thin Red Line’, representing the view corridor south of Lakeshore Road, proposed by the Downtown Mobility Hub Study. A new significant open space defined by the ‘Thin Red Line’ located on the west portion of the property, contiguous with the waterfront park
Buildings that provide a clear landmark visible from the park, Brant Street, John Street, Lakeshore Road & Lake Ontario
A potential development yield that is viable and provides some incentives for redevelopment.
 Panel 1 is what the developer originally proposed, panel 2 is what is permitted on the site, panel 3 is one of the alternatives that didn’t include any resident input panel 4 is the last iteration of concepts being considered in the planning study. This was the last iteration of conceptual designs that we were party to, and while we fundamentally supported it, we through Ramsay Planning Inc. submitted a few minor improvement suggestions. We are unaware of Vrancor’s feedback.
We acknowledge and respect the current property owner’s right to profit from his investment, and that this will necessitate a “reasonable” amount of massing and building height. We also believe passionately that the impact of this development will be felt by many future generations of Burlington residents & visitors, and collectively we must get it right. Citizens’ PLAN B is completely open to work with all stakeholders to help make this a “win-win” scenario.
Follow Plan B at: www.planbwaterfrontredevelopment.ca
Related news stories:
What about a land swap?
Plan B has been pressing city council for years
By Pepper Parr
January 10th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Council is going to hear a report this week on the The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study that was undertaken to comprehensively plan the waterfront site at 2020 Lakeshore Road and guide the landowner in its redevelopment.
Given that the site has been referred to as Ground Zero for Burlington an in-depth study made a lot of sense.
The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study will inform an implementing Official Plan Amendment. Once approved, that amendment will form part of the City’s Official Plan and provide a strategic framework to guide the redevelopment of the subject property.
 Notice the space between the southern part of the dotted red line and the edge of the lake. Who owns that property? Is it part of the hotel land or is it controlled by Conservation Halton? That’s an important question. The Study began in early 2017 and included three public meetings/community workshops (a total of six sessions) and two community surveys. In November 2017, an update on the status and progress of the study was presented to Council at the Planning and Development Committee Meeting. This community and stakeholder engagement phase first explored eight design ideas, which were then refined to three preliminary design concepts, and then two emerging concepts.
As a result of additional community and stakeholder input in early 2018, a staff report was brought to the Planning and Development Committee in June 2018. At that time, a set of key policy directions to guide the development of a final concept were endorsed by City Council. These key policy directions were organized around the design principles of Land Use and Built Form, Public Realm, and Mobility and Access.
In mid-2018 the Study was placed on hold due to other various priorities in the Community Planning Department such as the New Official Plan process and for staff to re-visit the Study workplan while considering the set of key policy directions endorsed by Council in June 2018.
While all the futzing and putzing was going on the developer beavered away at doing the design work and taking part in a pre-consultation meeting required to submit a development application.
 The design is world class – the architects have made excellent use of the different views that will be available. That application was submitted, but deemed to be incomplete by the planning department.
So what is the point of returning to the Study – the developer has wind in his sails and is on his way.
The Staff report makes mention of “height not to exceed three (3) storeys within 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road and eleven (11) storeys adjacent to John Street and beyond 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road” while the developer presents a plan for two towers that are very close to the southern edge of Lakeshore Road and soar 35 storeys high. The second tower is just 30 stories high. Both sit on a five storey podium.
The design of the buildings is superb, these are very smart looking buildings that would be a delight to live in. The plan puts them in the wrong place. One wag described the development as “out of proportion; out of place and should be outa here”
 The northern edge of the site is very close to the edge of Lakeshore Road. The five storey podium will loom over the street – with no view to the lake. The entrance to the east end of Spencer Smith Park will be through an opening in the podium. The surrounding context of the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study Area including changes to the northeast corner made through the scoped re-examination of the New Official Plan Project, will be considered in the development of the preferred concept for the Subject Property.
This will also include a review of the key policy directions endorsed by Council in June 2018, including the amended key policy direction #8 which was modified by Council to include the following language in bold text:
 Enhance the Brant Street view corridor to frame views to the Brant Street Pier, and require a significant building setback from the west property line and define and consider a building setback from the thin red line and maximize the new and enhanced publicly accessible green/open space.
That “thin red line” concept came from the Plan B, a group of citizens that believe something much better can be done with the hotel site.
It was a solid idea but the city planners found a way to get rid of the idea. At the January 23, 2018 Planning and Development Committee a council motion was carried to modify the block shown at the northeast corner of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road located in the proposed Cannery Precinct (22-storeys) to the Downtown Core Precinct with a maximum building height of 17-storeys including community benefits.
As a result of Council’s modification, the basis for the expanded public realm at the corner and enhanced setback limit was eliminated.
On April 26, 2018 City Council adopted a new Burlington Official Plan. On December 4, 2018, the Region of Halton issued a Notice of Non-Conformity to the City, which had the effect of extending the Region’s review process until such time as the Region determined that the non-conformity was rectified. While collaborating extensively with Regional staff on the issues of non-conformity the City undertook the scoped re-examination of the adopted Official Plan. This process took place while the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study was on hold.
Through the scoped re-examination of the New Official Plan Project in 2019-2020, the adopted Official Plan policies for the Downtown were studied. As part of that work the north-east corner of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road was revisited and was included within the Brant Main Street Precinct. The purpose of this precinct was to serve as a unique retail destination within the Downtown and city-wide.
The precinct provides a wide range of policies to guide development within the precinct. Specifically, related to built form, this precinct requires height not to exceed three (3) storeys within 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road and eleven (11) storeys adjacent to John Street and beyond 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road. In November 2020 the Region of Halton approved Burlington’s New Official Plan, which is currently under appeal.
The Subject Property was not included in the scoped re-examination of the New Official Plan Project and the new Official Plan did not change the existing land use designation and permitted building height for the Waterfront Hotel property located at 2020 Lakeshore Road.
 Former city Councillor John Taylor in discussion with Linda Davies and Dee Dee Davies during one of the six public sessions that were held shortly after this Council was elected. The Gazette was asked to leave the room, at the instructions of the Mayor, when the conversation between the stakeholders was taking place. Next Steps
With the re-examination of the New Official Plan (Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown) Project completed, approval of the new Official Plan (under appeal), as well as the Minster of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s approval, with modifications, of the Regional Official Plan Amendment 48 it is the appropriate time to resume the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study.
City staff with support from the project consultant, The Planning Partnership, the group that is leading the consultation process will resume the workplan where it left off in 2018 to complete the study. The work is anticipated to take 16-17 weeks and will be completed within the original project budget. The resumption of the study will build upon and advance the previous work and community input to-date to develop a final preferred concept.
There is a much better solution on what can be done with the hotel site.
A small group is working at building public support for a different look at the waterfront hotel site that includes possible land swaps and building a new city hall on the property; something that would be four or five storeys high and include a purpose built Art Gallery.
Burlington can do better than the application before the Planning department. There are limits on what developers should be able to do.
This is a story that is going to be around for some time. It is your city.
Related news stories:
More on Plan B
Some ideas on what is possible
By Pepper Parr
November 23rd, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
What is it this time you might ask?
Same old.
Developers doing what they seem to feel they have to do.
The one the Gazette has been watching is what we are calling the two Towers that Darko Vranich wants to put in the space now occupied by the Waterfront Hotel.
 Developer filed their application on October 26th – no one told the people who are opposed to any additional high towers along Lakeshore Road. The understanding we had was that the company, Lakeshore 2020, had yet to file a development application.
 Not a bright future for an old hotel – what replaces it is the big question. Not true – Lakeshore 2020 apparently filed an application on October 26th and at a meeting of City Council this afternoon the city planners are going to advise the Councillors that they do not want to accept the application because they believe it is not complete.
What we would like to know is – why does the public not get to learn the moment that an application had been filed.
One source has advised that the city planning department had 30 days to keep the application to themselves until they had assured themselves that it was complete. WE are not sure that is correct.
Not that it matters all that much at this point – what is really disturbing is the way members of council go mute and do not make any effort to inform the people.
Related news stories:
Plan B – worth more than a close look
Try a land swap and put city hall and the art gallery on the waterfront
By Pepper Parr
October 26th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
This is one of those chicken and egg situations – which came first ?
We’d like to revise that just a little bit and ask – which should come first?
The public was recently treated to a pre-application presentation by Bousfields, the planning consultants hired by Vrancorp to re-develop the Waterfront Hotel site.
 The twin towers would change more than the skyline of the city. The designs that were made public were stunning – but much of the public reaction was less than enthusiastic – what stunned them was the idea of putting two towers on Lakeshore Road, one that would be the highest in the city.
Nice buildings but not in Spencer Smith Park, was the predominant comment.
The two towers were proposed for what the planners called the iconic ground zero location – the intersection of Brant and Lakeshore Road where a 35 storey and a 30 story tower were to replace the nine storey hotel.
The site has been the focus point for a lot of planning – some of it going back more than a decade.
An agreement had been put in place to have a study done on how best to develop the hotel site and have it compliment Spencer Smith Park and the Promenade.
 The area to be covered in the Waterfront Study that started back in 2005. At this point there isn’t a completion date – there is a report that is scheduled to go to Council in 1Q of 2022 Vrancor, the corporation that owns the hotel, is reported to have put up the $150,000 to have the study done. They are understandably upset. They paid for the study but the study was not completed. The city doesn’t have a planner assigned to the study – the most recent word is that the planning department will be getting something to council in 2022.
This may be one of those times when the horses are out of the barn and it’s too late to close the door.
In June 2018 Council went along with a revised Work Plan for the study that was to be completed by Q1 of 2019, (This was before Meed Ward became Mayor.)
The re-thinking of what could be done with the site goes back to 2005 with a follow up report in 2006.
There was a subsequent site-specific policy requiring that a planning study process be completed prior to any redevelopment of the subject site.
 Residents at a workshop setting out their ideas with planner Thomas Walker. The 2018 report called for a high quality of urban design reflecting the landmark nature of this site, that “shall be contingent upon the completion of a master plan to the satisfaction of City Council.”
Public meeting to consider what the waterfront area should include.
In 2015 Council approved the terms of reference for the Waterfront Hotel Lands Planning Study.
In 2017 the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study was publicly launched, beginning with a pair of visioning workshops in May.
In November of 2018 the site’s significance was affirmed at the Planning and Development Committee meeting, evidenced by a number of delegations that presented a varied set of interests and development concepts.
 A series of drawings that got whittled down to two Preferred Concept – and that as far as the study of the Waterfront Hotel site has gone. At this point, 2018, the public had a series of drawings that resulted in two preferred concepts for development.
A group known as Plan B inserted itself into the process with their position that a thin red line be drawn beyond which there would be no development west of the hotel site.
Despite extensive engagement opportunities, a clear consensus on direction had not yet been achieved. Staff then built upon the consultation work done through three community workshops (a total of six sessions); what came out of the Planning and Development Committee held on November 28, 2017, and significant contributions from the Vrancor Group and the Plan B Citizen Group; they created key policy directions to move forward.
The key policy directions were intended to align with the vision statement, accommodate an iconic landmark building, and reinforce the site’s unique location as a major gateway to the waterfront.
 One of two renderings of what the site might look like. The entrance to the development would be from John Street not Brant
 Early concept didn’t have the height that was shown in the pre-application presentation. The key policy directions have been organized around the study’s three frameworks and guiding design principles of Land Use and Built Form, Public Realm, and Mobility and Access, as follows: Land use and built form and Public Realm are important and it is vital that everyone share the same understanding as to just what this means.
Land Use and Built Form
1) Create building frontages along Lakeshore Road and Elizabeth Street with building placement that establishes a defining street wall and frames the street zone.
2) Provide active uses at grade along Lakeshore Road and Elizabeth Street.
3) Achieve active and animated edges adjacent to Spencer Smith Park, with a requirement for retail and service commercial uses at grade:
a. Built form next to the south property line shall activate and animate this edge, respect the existing grade, and be scaled to the waterfront trail with higher levels stepping back as necessary.
b. Built form next to the west property line shall activate and animate this edge, respect the existing grade, and be scaled to Spencer Smith Park with higher levels stepping back as necessary.
4) Require a minimum of two uses within buildings and where feasible, encourage three uses.
5) Establish an iconic landmark building on the site subject to the following:
a. A new public, pedestrian space is provided at the foot of Brant Street where public views to the Lake and Pier are enhanced;
b. The iconic landmark building must contain a destination use or function;
c. The iconic landmark building shall enhance the City of Burlington’s image/identity.
6) Require design excellence in all matters of architecture, landscape architecture, sustainable and urban design and require that all public and private development proposals on or adjacent to the site be evaluated/reviewed by the Burlington Urban Design Advisory Panel.
 An unobstructed view of the Pier from Brant Street was objective number 1 for almost everyone. Public Realm
7) Protect public view corridors to Lake Ontario from Brant and Elizabeth Streets, and where possible John Street.
8) Enhance the Brant Street view corridor to frame views to the Brant Street Pier, and require a significant building setback from the west property line.
9) Create new and enhanced publicly accessible green/open space, which would include new north-south pedestrian connections between Lakeshore Road and Spencer Smith Park (mid-block and along the site’s edges).
10) Minimize changes to the existing grade along the southern edge of the site and enhance the interface with Spencer Smith Park.
11) Integrate a public washroom within the future redevelopment; with an entrance that is accessible, highly visible and within close proximity to Spencer Smith Park.
12) Identify opportunities for the placement of public art on and adjacent to the site.
Staff was to continue with background work and in early 2019, re-start the process with a refreshed look and feel building on the above policy directions. This will include a revised work plan and new public engagement plan which leverages the city’s newest communication and engagement software and tools.
Changes to the existing land use designation and permitted building height are not included in the new Official Plan – as it was in the then current Official Plan – not the one that the new Council adopted in 2019.
The process would involve a site-specific amendment to the Official Plan at such time as the study is completed by the City and approved by City Council.
What muddies up a clear understanding was the existence then of a downtown mobility hub, that problem was resolved; then a change in the Urban Growth Centre boundary.
The ICBL – Interim Control By Law was imposed and then the world was hit with a pandemic brought about by the Covid19 virus.
We are now at the point where a sense or normality seems to be returning.
Add to that a frenetic increase in the development applications that required the city to hire more than a dozen new planners.
Then along comes the planner for the hotel site owner saying they were tired of waiting and did a pre-application presentation that shocked many.
That pre-application is the beginning of a process that has a ticking clock.
The towers are closer than many realize – closer to the street than the hotel on the site. So back to that first question: which should come first – the completion of the Waterfront Study or the accepting of a development application.
There is an important connection between this Waterfront Study and the City’s new Official Plan, the Downtown Mobility Hub Area Specific Plan, the City’s Transportation Plan, Cycling Master Plan, Community Trails Strategy, the Transit Plan and the Tall Building and Downtown Streetscape Guidelines, all of which are necessary to ensure that redevelopment of the subject property meets the City’s urban design and growth management goals, as well as enhances the adjacent public space and waterfront.
People began asking – what about the Waterfront Hotel Study and wondering how a pre-application presentation could be done before the study was complete.
There is a lot riding on what is to be built on the hotel site; people are getting anxious.
Will the downtown core begin to look like the Toronto waterfront where a lot of the land south of the Gardner Expressway is studded with towers that limit the view of Lake Ontario?
Not much is being heard from the politicians – they have taken the view that they can’t say much at this point without being accused of being biased.
The point at which they feel they can comment is when planning staff produce their report that either recommends that a development proceed, or that the development not proceed or that they should continue working with the developer.
The stickler at this point is this: the city has 120 days to produce their report to council – something that is close to impossible for a development of this size.
Once the 120 point has been met the developer has the right to go to the Ontario Land Tribunal to ask for permission to proceed with the development.
Burlington has not done very well at the tribunal level, partly many feel because of the direction that comes out of Burlington’s legal department.
With all those agencies commenting the project begins to create some momentum that it might not be possible to hold in check.
The Gazette has made the telling of this story a mission.
The people of Burlington are going to have to make it a mission to ensure that Council hears what they think and feel.
In the next 13 months we are going to go through a provincial election and a municipal election. The strategy for those who care about where growth takes place and the kind of growth that takes place should be a mission as well.
Related news stories:
The pre-application presentation
Is there a different approach to how the site can be used? A land swap perhaps?
 By Pepper Parr
February 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Wednesday morning at 10:00 am the person chairing the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing will call the meeting to order and the scheduled 10 day hearing will begin.
Those attending might see some rabbits pulled out of a hat as the Adi development Group begin their argument that they should be given approval to build their now 26 storey condominium on the comer of Martha and Lakeshore Road.
 In terms of design the proposed building i several grades above what Burlington has seen in the past the level o intensification and the location are what have citizens upset. The last OMB level event was a request the ADI Development Group made to have their argument go to mediation.
There has not been a report from the OMB on how the mediation process went – did it even take place?
If it did was the mediation successful and if it was successful what did the mediator conclude?
The OMB meeting on Wednesday might be to have the OMB officer hearing the arguments decide to accept the recommendation from the mediator.
There hasn’t been a word from either the city or the OMB.
This mess, and that is the only fair word to apply to the 23 month saga that began at the end of March in 2015, when the city failed to make a decision on the application the Adi Group made to build what was originally a 28 storey stricture at the intersection.
The rules call for the city to respond to an application to either approve or not approve an application to revise the Official Plan within 180 days. These are often site specific revisions to the Official Plan.
The city got their lines crossed and was not able to give the developer an answer – the Adi group went to the OMB very shortly after the 180 day period ended.
The Adi Development Group had every right to do what they did even though the practice has been to allow some leeway. It was evident that Adi was quite prepared to bulldoze their way through the process.
 The site for the planed condominium was enlarged when Adi did a property swap with the Carnacelli group. The block between Martha and Pearl is now owned by the two developers – if the Adi development is approved – watch for a second building the same height to go up in that block. Is there no limit to what the Burlington market can absorb in the way of new residential units? Adi, perhaps realizing that they had a problem, did a land swap with another developer that had a small property to the north of the site making it larger – they reduced the height by two storeys as well.
The city had every right to ask the OMB to not hear the application because it was now a new and different proposal. The city chose to not force that argument. Had they done so Adi would have had to reapply for whatever they wanted from the city.
The city in essence gave Adi a pass.
It has been a badly managed file on the part of the city from almost the day the proposal was made public at a public meeting at the Art Gallery of Burlington.
Wednesday morning we will see what direction the OMB takes. This one could go in almost any direction.
The city solicitor, the city manager, members of city council know if there is a recommendation from a mediator.
If there is – the plot thickens.
Two sources, both close to this story are suggesting that the city has gone along with a structure that will be 18 storeys in height.
 The Adi brothers. A developer working in the same general area has said that in order to make a profit the Adi people need approval for eighteen storeys.
The Mayor has asked several people what they thought of a ten storey structure.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward has stick to her guns and said that the Official Plan and zoning for that property allows eight storeys and that is what she wants to see approved.
The property along the north side of Lakeshore Road between Pearl and Martha is owned by two developers.
Should the OMB hearing decide that Adi is to be given the right to build 26 storeys expect to see some almost identical built on the western side of that block.
 A 19 storey condominium plus a parking garage plus a medical building approved for this site. One block south and one block west the same developer is proposing a 26 storey tower opposite city hall.  Partial view of a proposed development opposite city hall on Brant Street. With the Carriage gate development now underway at Maria between Elizabeth and John Street going up 19 stories and another Carriage Gate development announced for James Street and Brant, opposite city hall the downtown core of Burlington will not resemble anything like the city many people seem to want – something quieter and small – and with less traffic.
Speaking of traffic – where do things stand on the road diet pilot study the city is struggling with on New Street between Guelph Line and Walkers Line?
By Staff
January 23rd, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a tough week for city manager James Ridge: he lost his Fire Chief, one of the best the city has had in some time and he learned that Hamilton wasn’t going to sell him the land around LaSalle Park in the city’s west end.
For a number of historical reasons that defy simple explanation – Hamilton owns a chunk of land inside Burlington’s borders.
The city, Burlington has been trying to buy it back – they currently rent the land for $1 a year on a lease that end in 2022.
The waterfront park, just south of Plains Road, includes a marina, baseball diamonds, a splash pad, picnic areas, bocce courts and a pavilion operating as a banquet facility.
Despite painstaking efforts to end a long-standing oddity, Hamilton will be holding onto its green space in Burlington for years to come.
 LaSalle Park – a 22 acre property inside city of Burlington borders and owned by the city of Hamilton who rent it to Burlington for $1 a year. Following a closed-door meeting last week Hamilton Councillors voted 8-6 to reject transferring ownership of LaSalle Park to Burlington in exchange for a complicated cash and land swap.
Details of the proposal remain confidential, but, according to several Councillors, there simply wasn’t enough money on the table for such prime waterfront property.
Mayor Rick Goldring says he’s disappointed the “win-win” deal was rejected. “I believe what we offered was very fair. This was really a negotiated proposal that came from their staff as well as our staff.”
Hamilton owns the 22-hectare (54 acre) Aldershot park on Burlington’s North Shore Boulevard for historical reasons, but since 1983 has leased it to Burlington, which maintains and operates it, for $1 a year.
The lease expires in 2022. Last year, both councils directed their city managers to come up with a proposal to permanently resolve the anomaly.
 Operated as a banquet hall and location for meetings the LaSalle Pavilion is popular. A third party appraiser was jointly hired to assess the value of the land. Because the proposal was presented in camera, the details are not known but it’s believed Hamilton was offered a low-end six figure purchase price.
For reasons that remain unclear, the proposal also included a land swap with the Royal Botanical Gardens, whose lands straddle both cities.
For his part, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger supported the deal as a “good neighbourly thing to do” based on market value.
“I thought it was fair and equitable, and I thought it was an opportunity to fix an historical anomaly that would create some value for everyone.”
 Burlington city manager with Hamilton’s city manager Chris Murray at a Bay Area Economic Summit last year – they weren’t able to come to terms on a price for the LaSalle Park property which Hamilton owns. Because Councillors also voted to take no further action, Eisenberger says the ball is in Burlington’s court if it wants to make another overture that might be more acceptable to the majority of Councillors.
Goldring says Burlington isn’t in any rush. “We’ve taken a shot at this. Our lease comes due in 2022. We have a pretty good deal right now. We lease the park for $1 a year so there wasn’t a whole bunch of sense of urgency to deal with this.”
Why does Hamilton own a piece of land inside Burlington’s borders? That goes back to when the Region of Halton was created. A Hamilton resident claims it was purchased in 1915 for $50,000 by Hamilton, the inflation adjusted value is $1,019,000 today.
The land cannot be developed into condos or apartments or housing – it is a park.
Burlington was originally to be part of Hamilton when regional governments were being set up. The province promised Hamilton the Aldershot community (including Hamilton’s RBG lands and LaSalle) if Hamilton would “shut up and go away” – accept regional government without Burlington. Instead, influenced by Burlington PC MPP G. Kerr, the governing PCs double-crossed Hamilton and instead included Aldershot with Burlington and making it part of the Halton Region.
Why does Hamilton own a piece of land inside Burlington’s borders? That goes back to when the Region of Halton was created A Hamilton resident believes it was purchased in 1915 for $50,000 by Hamilton, the inflation adjusted value is $1,019,000 today.
The land cannot be developed into condos or apartments or housing – it is a park.
Burlington was originally to be part of Hamilton when regional governments were being set up. 18
The Province promised Hamilton Aldershot (including Hamilton’s RBG lands and LaSalle) if Hamilton would “shut up and go away” (accept regional government without Burlington). Instead, influenced by Burlington PC MPP G. Kerr, the governing PCs double-crossed Hamilton and instead included Aldershot with Burlington (and Halton Region).
 Fire chief Tony Bavota quite and heads for a senior job with the Toronto Fire department. As for the Fire Chief deciding there were better career goals for him in Toronto – we lost a good one. Tony Bavota tightened up operations at the Fire department and did the necessary work to ensure that Emergency measure matters were in the hands of the people who had had the experience needed to manage tough situations.
Bavota steps into his office in Toronto on February 6th.
 By Pepper Parr
April 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
This isn’t the time of year for people to be out on the streets all that much – it’s still a little chilly.
For those who do venture to the edge of the lake and happen to wander east of the Waterfront hotel – they find themselves entering the early stages of a construction zone.
That lot that used to be home to the Riviera is now just mud with pieces of equipment scattered around the site.
 It could be taken for some kind o armament – but it is a drill that bores into the ground. Fencing is in place and those “must wear a hard hat” signs are beginning to go up. Earlier in the week there was a tall – maybe three storey’s high – rig on the property. Bore holes were being drilled.
Bruno Kresina, the construction project manager, wasn’t on hand to explain what was going on.
The piece of land was home to the sales office – that was torn down a couple of weeks ago. The large six foot by six foot scale model of the Bridgewater project was put in storage – it will show up again when the new sales office is opened.
For a while the use of office space in the downtown core east of Brant was close to a game of musical chairs. Mayrose Tyco owners of the five storey tower on the north edge of the Elizabeth Street parking as well as the owners of the Bridgewater development, had rented space to the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. They were set up on the ground floor of the building while the parking lot at the Joseph Brant hospital underwent a massive re-development re-build that is costing the taxpayers $60 million – with the hospital foundation raising a second $60 million.
 A drawing setting out where the different buildings will b situated and the open space for public access. With the hospital foundation out of the space, Jeff Paikin and his New Horizons Development group can move their sales offices into the space. Not they need all that much of a sales office space – they are said to be past the 70% sold point – and that must be true because the bankers don’t release the cash until sales are at that magic 70% level.
And so now the construction begins.
 This is what the south side of Lakeshore is going to look like sometime in 2018 – there will be public access to the lake in between the hotel on the right and the condominium of the left. It won’t be a very wide opening. It’s a complex set up. The development was approved by city council in 1995 – it was to be a “legacy” project that had been in the minds of the Mayrose Tyco people before 1985. There were some land swaps that squared the assembled land – and a couple of close calls when Conservation Halton, who had grandfathered the development a long time ago but were beginning to get impatient.
Mayrose Tyco brought in the Mady Group to build what was to be a 22 storey condominium and a seven storey condominium plus a seven storey hotel that edged up to eight storeys.
The first hotel was to be a Delta – that got upgraded to a Marriott – which is some distance from the old Riviera motel.
Mady ran into financial problems – Mayrose Tyco took them off the building of the development and asked Paikin if he would take on the construction.
Paikin had already bought a unit in the seven story condominium – he was now going to build his new home.
 You are looking at what is going to be pretty close to the new street – sidewalk alignment on the south side of Lakeshore immediately east of Elizabeth street.  It will be a couple of years before the any moving vans arrive – the residents of the city have a couple of years to complain about the construction disruptions.
When it is completed – the waterfront will be a much different place.
 The construction of the pier and now this luxury level hotel and some very high end condominiums, which will be described as the finest buildings to live in the GTA. Better than Oakville?
By Pepper Parr
June 1, 2105
BURLINGTON, ON
Today is the first day of a summer vacation he never had in the years he was been with the Planning department in Burlington.
 Bruce Krushelnicki was frequently at the table working with citizens, listening to their ideas and explaining the why and how things were done. The reports his department issued were frequently as good as they get in the planning business.  Insisting that there be commercial space at grade level was not an easy conversation with the developers of the Buntin Wharf project on Lakeshore Road between Locust and Brant – imagine that part of the city without this look? Bruce Krushelnicki left city hall on Friday afternoon and summarized for the Gazette what he managed to get done during his time with the city and some of the things that haven’t happened yet.
Planners build on the shoulders of the people who came before them explained Krushelnicki I didn’t plan the Alton Community – my job was to implement the plan and ensure that the original design was adhered to.
Krushelnicki was heavily involved in the creation and implementation of the Plains Road Village Vision (PRVV) which has changed radically the road that used to be the only one that got you to Niagara Falls.
We had to do a lot of talking to the Shoppers Drug Mart people to get them to see things our way – we wanted the entrance to the store open to the street and they did build the door – but it is locked.
We wanted a two story building – and they did that – now there are doctors’ offices on that second floor – what better place to have a doctor’s office.
Plains Road is no longer just a major traffic artery – it has been going through a process of change for a number of years – that job is far from finished.
Getting developers to see the longer term potential for their properties can be a time consuming process explained K. We had many conversations with the Molinaro’s about street level store fronts on the Buntin wharf property that stretched between Locust and Brant. Can you imagine Brant Lakeshore Road without that stretch of patio space? They make that part of the city feel like parts of Europe added Krushelnicki.
For some developers talking wasn’t enough and the building permit they had been issued was pulled. Drewlo learned that lesson when they made major changes to the way vehicles were going to enter and leave the underground garage of the multi building apartment complex they were building on Plains Road.
 Early version of the Maranatha design had more massing then the planning department was prepared to accept.
 After a lot of negotiating and discussion the final look of the Maranatha project looked like this. Preparing the land for construction has begun The Maranatha project on New Street that is now having the land prepared for construction was another project that Krushelnicki believes benefited from intervention by the Planning department. The building has significant massing and even though it was set back from the street further than most people realized it was a large building. By tapering the ends and creating a large glass section in the middle the building is much easier to look at.
There are those who still feel it doesn’t fit in with the neighbourhood to which Krushelnicki replies – neighbourhoods change – they are supposed to change – but at a pace that fits with where planners feel the city is going.
Most of the two storey properties on Brant Street have four storey zoning as of right and can get eight storeys once they have worked with the planning department to ensure that what is planned fits in with what the residents of the community – and the city believe is appropriate for the area.
Krushelnicki knows now that the malls created in the 70’s do not meet the needs of the community the way they once did and that they need to be re-developed to include a residential and commercial component.
Making more efficient use of land will mean changing the way some sectors of the local economy use the space they have. Krushelnicki points to Mississauga where they created a part of the city that was for the automotive sector. Burlington doesn’t have that Krushelnicki of space available anywhere in the city but Krushelnicki does see the possibility of automotive dealers going up rather than continually going sideways.
The land at the corner of Fairview and Brant has too much value to serve as a parking lot for used cars – the same would apply to the automotive dealers along Fairview and Guelph Line. The planning department did have conversations with most of the automotive dealers in town to talk about different configurations that could be used. “They weren’t ready for a change yet” explained Krushelnicki at a committee meeting.
In the world of planning and development the Ontario Municipal Board is the 800 pound elephant in the room – it is an organization Krushelnicki understand very well. He served as an OMB Commissioner for a period of time and wrote one of the more definitive texts on just how the OMB works.
 The walkway that was built at the bottom of what was once the infamous Rivieria Motel was the result of a land swap Krushelnicki put together with Mayrose Tyco the developers of the property that will house a 22 storey, a seven story condominium plus an 8 storey hotel. The hotel was originally going to be open for the Pan Am games which isn’t something you can blame on the now retired planner, While many of the decisions on what would be built on the waterfront were made before Krushelnicki joined the city as the planner 11 years ago he does get credit for coming up with a land swap that extended the waterfront the public could use a little further to the east and gave the people who were developing what is today called the Bridgewater hotel.
Burlington currently has a major case before the OMB – the ADI development on Martha and Lakeshore that he won’t say a word about because it is before the board.
Krushelnicki taught for twelve years and has until very recently done some teaching at Ryerson and Waterloo. Is there some teaching for a man who is in excellent shape and still holds his truck driver’s license.
There are those who believe Krushelnicki never stopped teaching. On numerous occasions when there was a planning issue of some significance one could see all the junior members of the Planning department in the council chamber – many of them taking notes. And there were always a number of the senior members watching a master at the craft of explaining how planning is supposed to work.
 The concept of precincts to define neighborhoods was an approach Bruce Krushelnicki brought to Burlington’s Official Plan Burlington is in the process of re-writing its Official Plan. The Plan that was approved in 2006 was a Krushelnicki creation. We created a precinct approach and grouped interest and gave them a precinct name and applied zoning development guidelines to them. While the word “neighbourhoods: didn’t actually appear in the official plan – it was vital from Krushelnicki point of view that the way people had organized themselves in the city be respected.
Krushelnicki didn’t live in Burlington but he had a feel for the city that must have run through his mind as he came over the Skyway Bridge and saw it set out before him.
The people writing the new Official Plan are all Krushelnicki prodigies – his finger prints will be all over the document.
Krushelnicki did have his detractors. Many felt he was too restrictive and that he didn’t manage his staff as well as he might. He certainly had strong views and had little difficulty making them know. What made Bruce Krushelnicki so different was the way he would frame and arrange his comments.
He certainly had the best tailor in town and would not take off his jacket when making a presentation. One could not even imagine Krushelnicki wearing a pair of those plaid trousers golfers tend to wear.
During what was really an oration at a Committee of the Whole recently at the LaSalle Park Pavilion the sun was shining directly onto Krushelnicki’s back and the beads of perspiration on his forehead were showing. One of his senior staff who was within his line of sight patted her hip a number of times.
I wasn’t quite sure what she was doing or why – but realized she was sending her boss a signal. The staff member knew that Bruce Krushelnicki always kept a fresh handkerchief in his jacket pocket; she was trying to remind him that it was there.
The staff within the planning department for the most part adored the man. He treated his people with respect and saw his major role as one of developing them and making them better civil servants.
Krushelnicki was without a doubt the most literate senior staff member the city has. During the crafting of the Strategic Plan in 2011, when asked what form it should take, Krushelnicki said keep it to two pages and write it in Latin.
 Krushelnicki must have explained what “top of bank”meant to citizens groups more than 1000 times while he was Director of Planning for the city. During his time as Burlington’s planner he must have explained what “top of bank” meant more than 1000 times – he also tirelessly explained that approval of some height density on one lot did not serve as a precedent for every lot in the neighbourhood.
Krushelnicki had a style that was very much his own. His ethics were beyond reproach, he had that old school politeness about him and more often than not he knew what he was doing and why he made the decisions he made
Krushelnicki was no where near retirement age – but some took the position that his time had come.
By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON July 11, 2011 – This business of municipal politics can get pretty sticky and complicated.
Try this on for size. A developer, Mayrose Tycon has the right to put up a building that can reach 21 stories into the sky on the property that is home to the Riviera on the Lake Motel, located to the east of the Waterfront Hotel on the south side of Lakeshore Road. The height and density of the structure are basically cast in stone. What it will actually look like isn’t known yet.
At a Waterfront Advisory meeting a few months ago committee member Michael O’Sullivan passed around a news clipping from 1995 that showed a drawing of what the developer had in mind back then. It is pretty close to what people understand the plans being talked about now are calling for.
Mayrose Tycon have been trying to put together a deal since 1995 with a company that would do the actual building and take over the property, but haven’t yet found the right company to partner with. Minto and Tridel, two very large, well established builders walked away from the opportunity. Mayrose Tycon is now talking to a major mid level hotel group about a possible deal that would be a combination of hotel and condominium.
The close to defunct Save our Waterfront people were worried that a structure would go up that prevented a view of the lake. While the height and density of whatever is built is a done deal, the actual site plan is something the community has been assured they would have some say in.
But as Jeff Marten, a member of the Waterfront Advisory Committee, said at a recent meeting: “I would like to be alive when the ground for construction is broken.” That isn’t going to be this year and many wondered if the Pier would be completed before shovels went into the ground for the 21 storey landmark structure.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward has been telling her constituents that she is “on the file” but there isn’t very much she can do except prod and probe and ask questions which she did at a recent meeting with the Mayrose Tycon people.
 Is there a by-law enforcement officer that would let the badly damaged floor of the motel room balcony at the Riviera Motel remain the way it is if they knew about the condition. They know now. A lot of people would like to see the building torn down because it is something of an eye sore – and who by the way would want to stay in the motel – it looks like a dump. Well – guess what; both the city and the region have an interest in keeping the dumpy looking motel right where is it, thank you. And the developer doesn’t mind one bit – renting out rooms in the motel brings in some revenue
The revenue stream is your tax dollars – money the Regional govern pays Mayrose Tycon for the use of the motel as a place to house homeless people. And as of last Friday the place was full.
There is an interesting aspect to all this and that is for a city that talks about making the waterfront accessible to the public, precious little is actually done to improve the access.
A Waterfront Advisory sub-committee recently did an excellent piece of investigative work to find out just how many “windows on the to the lake” there actually are – good report – that has gone exactly nowhere. Meed Ward hasn’t brought up the matter at a Council committee nor has Councillor Craven. Grahame Richards, who was part of the group that did the field work on the report said he couldn’t add much more: “the people at city hall aren’t answering their phones these day.”
The Mayor sits on the Waterfront Advisory Committee – has he asked legal to look into those situation where private property owners whose property abuts public property have taken steps to actually prevent the public from getting to the edge of the lake.
Lots of issues regarding the lakefront getting to the waters edge and then being a bit stunned when you see the condition of at least one of the buildings. Comes pretty close to being the kind of building run by slum landlords.
 There is more than just the one damaged balcony – much of the building probably doesn’t meet building or safety codes. Why hasn’t the city done something about this situation? Because it houses homeless people? Because the Region is renting the building? Were the public able to walk along the pathway at the lake edge in front of the Riviera Motel they would see the deplorable condition that building is in.
A close look at the building suggests the city’s by law enforcement people might want to take a look at the condition of the structure. But bylaw enforcement in Burlington is a reactive process – they respond to complaints and no one so far has complained. That is about to change.
The Medical Officer of Health might also want to take a look at the structure. Maybe that department is also reactive as opposed to being proactive.
 The Riviera has been around for a long time, still has guests who have one of the best views in the city. At the edge of the property there is a brand new walkway – waiting for the public to stroll along the waters edge where they can gaze upon a dumpy looking eyesore. The city gets tax revenue on the property and the developer wanting to get something in the way of a return for the property, rents the units to the Region who use it to house homeless people and immigrants that the Region has to house.
Someone suggested that the city could rent the motel and the land around it from the developer for $1 a year and demolish the eyesore and use the land as a temporary, short term park; and given that this project has been on hold for at least 15 years the public could benefit. Might be a good idea – depends on what the taxes are on the property. Sounds good, seems to have some merit. Why not give it a shot?
The city could enter into an agreement with Mayrose Tycon to forgive the property taxes as long as the city uses the land for a public park. When the developer eventually has a partner who is ready to actually build the city gives up the space as parkland and lets the construction equipment in.
 You can get to the walkway that gets you to the edge of the lake – all you have to do is slip through the fence and then wander along till you meet up with the eastern edge of Spencer Smith Park – great view of the unfinished Pier from this location. There was a bit of a land swap involved in the assembly of the property that will at some point become the city’s one skyscraper. A small patch of city land was traded and the developer ceded the right to a small strip of property at the water’s edge that is ready today for pedestrians to stroll along – problem is- the pathway isn’t open to the public. The walkway is in place and will eventually join up with Spencer Smith Park
But don’t hold your breath waiting for either Councillors Meed Ward or Craven to propose this at a Council committee meeting and put forward a Staff Direction to have this looked into. Even if they did, the City Manager would bury this one for a couple of years.
If the motel were torn down the Region wouldn’t have a shelter for the homeless and, while the place is a dump, Burlington doesn’t want to get into a discussion about building a homeless shelter – that would bring out every NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) in the city howling at a council committee meeting. Disappointing, that a city with so much cannot find its way to actively looking for a place to build a shelter for the homeless. We manage to raise money for just about every other group but we’re not very good at helping the truly disadvantaged.
The best place for a shelter would be in either Wards 1 or 2 – can we expect Councillors Craven and Ward to ask the city to look for a suitable location in which to house the homeless and at the same time open up some lake front property for more parkland – even if it is going to be temporary. The location would be a great spot for the sidewalk superintendents in the city to sit out in the fresh air and keep an eye on the Pier construction.
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 By Ray Rivers
August 23, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
“You deserve a government that tells the truth. That cares about regular people and does right by them. A government that isn’t under criminal investigation,” (Opposition Leader Marit Stiles)
At the entrance to the Milton Heritage Park, which hosted the annual Ford Fest on a recent Friday, there were a handful of protesters holding placards opposing Mr. Ford’s attempted Green Belt land grab and his highway #413 project. The provincial and local police at the site outnumbered the well-behaved protesters.
 Premier Doug Ford with the largest Cabinet in the history of the province – 38 members – at a Ford Fest event in Milton. There were no red-coats around, though we know they are coming – the mounties always get their man. They have begun questioning witnesses about Ford’s Greenbelt giveaway to his developer friends and who actually was pulling the strings in that drama. Ford has apologized and promised once again to keep his hands off the Greenbelt.
But it was a stupid move. Putting utility services into Greenbelt lands would have been limited by the capacity downstream to accept more waste and provide more water. And while always possible, it would have been prohibitively expensive, such that only the well heeled would have been able to afford those homes. So much for affordable housing. So much for meeting the province’s housing targets.
And then there is Ford’s other gift to the developers – his planned highway #413. The reasons previous governments had rejected building that road are just as valid today as they were a decade ago. An internal study by Ford’s own people has confirmed that this road would have an almost negligible effect on current traffic gridlock in the GTA, and most likely just add to the problem.
 Ford’s big argument that the #413 would save GTA commuters a half hour commuting time is rubbish. His own people have shown that that would only be true for as few as 1200 commuters. But to make matters worse, the #403 will add additional car-dependent development and cars – and that would only add even further to the gridlock.
In fact Ford’s own people note that GTA gridlock is here to stay. The best shorter term solution would be to allow people to use the relatively empty #407. And that would mean subsidizing the #407 for drivers or buying it back. After all, we taxpayers have already built and paid for the road to reduce our traffic congestion.
 Traffic on the 407 toll highway It may be history, but it’s instructive to recall that Mr. Ford’s Tory predecessor gave the #407 away to a foreign consortium in a 99 year lease for a measly $3 billion, just so he could say he’d balanced an election-year budget. The lease he signed is apparently unbreakable and entitles the owners to engage in highway robbery – literally. As a result that highway is now worth over ten times what Harris got for it – more than $30 billion today. That is one heck-of-a-return-on-investment for the buyers but was a really idiotic move for taxpayers by Mr. Harris, as it turns out.
As if Mr. Ford had not learned anything, the proposed #413 will still carve out sections of Ontario’s Greenbelt. The #413 will cross three parcels of conservation land north of Toronto, and also take up prime farmland. As of 2022, the Ontario government found 11 species at risk along its proposed path.
 Proposed route of Hwy 414 The #413 project is reportedly moving rapidly from planning to shovels in the ground, yet we, the taxpayers, have no idea how much this road will end up costing us. Some say $4 billion, some say $10 billion – but most say more. Ford needs to come clean. Previous governments have ruled against building this project and the next government is just as likely to make it an election issue – and if elected, kill it.
Other premiers have also made poor decisions without adequately consulting the public – McGuinty’s expensive election promise to move the gas plants; Wynne’s sell-off of Hydro One, Harris breaking up Ontario Hydro. But Bill Davis showed courage and foresight when he responded to the public by killing the community-destroying Spadina Expressway, now Allen Road.
Harris cheated us of our birthright when he gave away lease rights to the #407 for 99 years in a backroom deal. It’s a good thing Mr. Ford’s spa deal at Ontario Place is only for 95 years.
Background links:
Ford Fest – Gridlock Forever – RCMP – Harris #407
 Ray Rivers, a Gazette Contributing Editor, writes regularly applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
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