Midtown Transit Oriented Community
Dates for your Diary
December 10th 6.30pm – Virtual Engagement session – Sign up here Webinar Registration – Zoom
December 12th, 4-7pm – In-person Engagement Session, Holiday Inn, 590 Argus Road
The Province, through Infrastructure Ontario, has intervened in the planning for Midtown Oakville with a proposed Transit Oriented Community (TOC). This is in partnership with a single developer, Distrikt Capital. Distrikt controls just 5 hectares of prime land, between Cross Avenue and the South Service Road, opposite the GO Station. This TOC has rendered meaningless much of the recent years-long planning for Midtown Oakville.
We Love Oakville (WLO), a consortium (including CMGRA) of Oakville Residents’ Associations, is convinced that this TOC proposal is one of the biggest ,existential threats that the Town of Oakville has ever faced.
The Province, with Distrikt, will directly control the planning and development of 5 hectares of Midtown, and the Town is left to plan around the TOC for the remaining 98 hectares.
Under the TOC plan Distrikt proposes 6,908 condo apartments, 66% of which will be studio or one-bedroom units. This will create a population of some 14000 people in just 5 hectares (7 football pitches!). This density is about 14 times higher than the Province’s minimum required population per developed hectare for Midtown and will slew the population away from the family based accommodation that is so sorely needed. This density is absurdly excessive and if other nearby developers press for equal planning permissions, it could result in a Midtown population of over 100,000 or about half Oakville’s current total population!
WLO is opposed to such extraordinary development and CMGRA fully supports WLO in its efforts to save Midtown from gross over-development and encourages everyone in our neighbourhood to do the same. We need to continue to emphasize to the Province our support for a vibrant new Midtown community, but also our strong opposition to the extremes and excesses now proposed within the TOC.
Recent public communications from our elected representatives show that our voice, through WLO, is being heard and we must make sure that is acted upon and we see changes to have a Midtown that Oakville and its future residents can be proud of. The only way to do that is to be sure that our opposition to bad planning is visible and widespread.
To do that, please join the letter writing campaign and plan to participate in the few remaining opportunities (see the WLO News) to have CMGRA voices heard on Dec. 10th and in person on Dec.12th at the Holiday Inn on Argus Road.
A strong showing from the community is absolutely essential to get the attention and response from the Province that Oakville, and the future residents of Midtown deserve.
Please, not only send a letter yourself, but encourage your friends and neighbours to also write and attend the meetings.
Letter Writing Campaign – https://www.weloveoakville.org/takeaction
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