Mayor Rob Burton convened a special meeting of Council last night for Council and the public to receive an update from Planning and Legal staff on current matters related to the Glen Abbey Golf Course. Key issues discussed included the upcoming January 30, 2017 Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing on Clublink’s appeal of the town’s interim control by-law, an update on key town studies underway, as well as the status of the proposed development application submitted by ClubLink on November 10, 2016.
“We need to build a shared understanding with the community of the complex issues surrounding the future of the Glen Abbey Golf Course site,” Mayor Burton said. “While the status of the town’s interim control by-law will be determined at the OMB, the town is still moving forward with the studies that will help us to better understand this property. We look forward to hearing from the public, the applicant and community stakeholders when these studies are brought forward to Council later this spring.”
The three studies that the town proposed to complete during the timeframe provided by the interim control by-law are:
- An Urban Structure Review
- A Land Use Economic and Impact Analysis Study, and
- A Cultural Heritage Landscape Assessment of Glen Abbey Golf Course
Staff indicated that good progress is being made on all studies and that the draft results are expected to be presented to Council during spring 2017. It is anticipated that the implementation of the studies may then require further official plan and zoning by-law amendments and/or other implementation tools.
The town’s Director of Planning, Mark Simeoni, also updated Council on the status of ClubLink’s November 10, 2016 submission for an Official Plan amendment, a Zoning By-law amendment and a Plan of Subdivision to permit redevelopment of the Glen Abbey Golf Course property including 3,200 residential units, 121,000 square feet of new office and retail space and 32.47 hectares of natural heritage system.
Mr. Simeoni noted that the town had determined that the application was incomplete given it did not contain all of the information required by the town and ClubLink was advised of this decision on December 8, 2016. As a result, on December 12, 2016, ClubLink requested that the OMB hear a motion to determine the completeness of their application. The OMB has not yet set a date for the hearing of this motion.
Members of Council sought clarification from staff on the differences between the Glen Abbey and Saw Whet golf courses within the Livable Oakville Official Plan. Commissioner of Community Development Jane Clohecy noted that the site-specific Official Plan policies designating Saw Whet as an area of potential future growth do not exist for Glen Abbey.
“We appreciate the clarification from staff on the differences between Glen Abbey and Saw Whet within Oakville’s Official Plan,” said Mayor Burton. “All of this information is critical to understanding the process and purpose behind the three studies staff are currently undertaking.”
Mayor Burton went on to remind the audience that under the provincial Planning Act, members of Council cannot take a position on an application until all of the relevant information is presented to Council.
Town Solicitor Doug Carr further noted that the upcoming January 30, 2017 OMB hearing will only be considering issues related to ClubLink’s appeal of the town’s interim control by-law (2016-024) that was passed on February 1, 2016, and the one year by-law extension (2016-115) that was passed on November 1, 2016. The hearing will take place in the Trafalgar Room at Town Hall and members of the public are welcome to attend. Only those individuals and groups already registered as parties or participants may speak at the hearing.
For updates and background information on all of the issues related to Glen Abbey, or to view last night’s meeting, visit the town’s Glen Abbey Information page on oakville.ca.