It Takes a Village to Plan a City
Time is Running Out.
Midtown Needs Your Voice.
The Time for Action is Now. Get Involved!
Make Plans Now to Attend the Meeting of Council
April 22, 2024 @ 6:30 p.m., Council Chambers
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Gather Your Neighbours and Come to Council. Your Voice Matters.
Your Presence Shows Council You Care About the Future of Oakville.
Support Those Who Will Speak - Or Speak Yourself.
E-mail Both!
The Next Few Weeks are Crucial
We need you to help get others involved. SHARE. WRITE. ATTEND.
For months, here's what we've heard from residents across Oakville.
Their Questions, Comments & Concerns
Population/Density
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We support responsible growth. We need Council to ensure it is compatible with the size of land available and the liveability people deserve.
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What are Midtown's projected growth numbers based on? They far surpass what the Province has directed.
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Who has decided we have to put this many people in this small a space? Do they want to live there?
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How do Midtown's proposed people and jobs per hectare numbers compare to those being developed for Burlington GO or Bronte GO?
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30, 40, 50,000 people in one square kilometre? That's a level of density greater than Paris, Mumbai and Kolkata.
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What's the 'big picture' of growth in Oakville? Midtown is one growth centre. We need a comprehensive, overall depiction of how all our growth areas will work together to accommodate growth in a sustainable, liveable way.
Liveability
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How will the OPA ensure Midtown has liveability that includes parks, local community needs, schools, dog parks, community gardens, a safe road/pedestrian/active transportation network, and be environmentally sustainable? In other words a complete community.
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Why are the consultants not providing a strategy of how key implementation issues are addressed for things like parks, all forms of transportation in, out and around Midtown, regional GO infrastructure plans for their lands?
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Why would we approve an OPA without knowing if these concepts are even realistic?
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Have the consultants considered transportation in and through midtown including traffic counts?
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Could our OPA approach to growth be modelled in a similar manner to our neighbouring municipality - based on the minimum density of 200 people and jobs per gross hectare, planned to 2051 and beyond and monitored and adjusted to track the achievement of the growth target? Would this approach enable us to adapt to changing housing and employment needs on the next OP review?
Concepts
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Are we correct in our understanding there will only be ONE 3-D rendering of Midtown? We need to see options.
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We need to envision how various building heights and land uses will look at ground level.
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We need to visualize life in Midtown from the perspective of a pedestrian.
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We need to see connectivity and how residents will use the areas around them.
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What is the projected cost to the taxpayer for the infrastructure needed to support Midtown?
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Why aren't we hearing from the Town on its discussions with major land owners like Metrolinx or developers? How can we know how realistic these concepts are without hearing of their possible plans for the future?
Community & Quality of Life
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What is the projected number of people living in each unit? How will the OPA accommodate the needs of families?
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What happened to having mid-rise buildings in our concepts and plans?
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Why are we not limiting height on Cornwall to uses such as a mix of townhouses and low rise 6-8 storeys? We're using that strategy on the Trafalgar Corridor. Transition is important!
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How can we project 60,000 people in an area like this and only plan for 2 schools?
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I keep hearing Midtown is the solution to affordable housing for families. What definition of 'affordable' is being used? Will there be subsidized housing? What do we project in terms of the ownership/rental mix?
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Some people are saying if we put all this density in Midtown, we won't have increased density in established neighbourhoods. Does Midtown eliminate the Ontario Government's mandate to allow 3 units per lot?
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How will the Town ensure Midtown residents have the parks/green spaces suggested in the consultants’ concepts when the Province has reduced the parkland dedication provided by the developers? What's the Town's strategy to acquire land? And, how much is it projected to cost? That's something everyone in Oakville needs to know.
Environmental Sustainability
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Why have the consultants not addressed climate change and sustainability needs in any detail? We don't see any details on Green Building Standards or requirements for things such as rainwater capture and re-use, air quality, etc.
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What about using natural systems for stormwater controls? Our local creeks are going to be the recipients of huge quantities of Midtown's stormwater. We must deal with these issues now, not later.
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How do we know the importance of environmental sustainability be incorporated into the OPA? Show us!
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Why haven't we heard more about things such as solar power, geothermal, district energy, etc.?
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If Metrolinx has no commitment to changing their surface parking or extending the platform east, are the buses still going to be on Cross avenue ? How is a 6 lane road environmentally smart or pedestrian and active transportation friendly? Why haven't the consultants shared information with us on their discussions with Metrolinx?
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What standards can we establish to ensure design of parking unit minimums/maximums are able to transition to shifts in future requirements?
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How can we achieve street designs that allow for business/retail/residential needs and deliveries while preserving other aspects of Complete Streets?
