Development Update: 2243 & 2269 Fairview Street & 864 Drury Lane ('Holland Park')

Many residents are taking a keen interest in the lands for development near the Burlington GO - casually known as ‘Holland Park’. In this post, you’ll find a brief update and note about how the Interim Control Bylaw impacts this planning file.

The owners have been working with City staff to develop the plan over the past 2 years. Meetings included Planning pre-consultation, Burlington Urban Design Review Panel, public site walking tour and several other informal meetings with various City of Burlington departments. My Councillor Office has met with the applicants in 2019 and 2020, as captured in the Ward 2 Business Meeting Registry.

There is a proposed phased mixed-use development consisting of 7 towers with heights ranging from 29-37 storeys.  Towers will include a combination of residential and commercial uses. Parking will be accommodated both underground and at the rear of the property in a parking structure utilizing the required 30 metre setback from the rail.

The site is an 8.5-acre parcel located east from the Brant and Fairview main intersection - within 250 and 500 metres of the Burlington GO Station (3-5-minute walk), which is recognized under provincial policy as a Priority Transit Corridor and a Gateway Mobility Hub.

The proposal features a public realm experience that includes a linear park located on top of the parking structure, public park, focal intersection at the heart of the site and POPS (privately owned public space).

This site is zoned MXT in the City’s existing zoning bylaw, which is a Mixed Use Corridor zone in proximity to the Burlington GO Station.  The MXT zone does not have an established maximum height in the existing zoning bylaw. This application will be reviewed in accordance with the City-initiated Zoning By-law Amendment 2020.418 that resulted from the findings of the 2019 Interim Control Bylaw Land Use Study and which was approved by Council on Jan. 30, 2020.  Zoning By-law Amendment 2020.418 requires a maximum building height of six storeys within the first 10 metres of Fairview Street and Drury Lane to ensure that future development will achieve an appropriate transition to adjacent areas through a mid-rise, pedestrian-scale built form along these streets.  However, this Zoning Bylaw amendment is currently under appeal and therefore the Interim Control Bylaw (ICBL) is still in effect.  As a result, no approvals will be granted until the appeals have been resolved and the ICBL is no longer in effect.

This is one of the rare sites in the City of Burlington where the applicant intends to comply with the Zoning By-law, the site is zoned MXT. This means that a development application proceeds straight to Site Plan - which it now has - and does not follow the process many are familiar with. In contrast, when a Zoning By-law Amendment is requested, the proponent will go through community meetings, a statutory public meeting, and receive a planning recommendation report for Council to vote on. None of these steps are required for applications that are in compliance with the regulations of the Zoning By-law - as is the case for the lands known as "Holland Park".

For the property including 2243, 2269 Fairview Street & 864 Drury Lane, a subject Site Plan Application was deemed complete and materials have been circulated internal and external review. Currently in the review phase, this file has not come to the Councillors office for comments as of yet, nor is there an established timeline to announce, including what the impacts of the ICBL on the site’s zoning. Residents have inquired why this development is not available for public review on the City of Burlington website Current Developments - Ward 2. This is because, unlike a Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Official Plan Amendment, Site Plan Applications are not a public process under the Planning Act.

The lands are owned by a joint venture announced in June 2019 between Brookfield Property Group which joined a partnership with InterRent REIT and CLV Group to develop its first Canadian, multi-family-anchored, mixed-use project on the Burlington GO Lands.

As councillor, I know how important it is to keep the community informed and engaged on such a significant development. I intend to continue a collaborative approach on this development and bring options to create a complete community with useful the facts amenities on an established transit line. In all likelihood, this will be a size and scale unseen in Burlington, potentially bringing with it anxiety and unrest; without doubt there will be lessons learned to apply to future applications.  I continue to work with City Staff on new ways to provide the public with technical information and timely progress updates.  It is important to be clear that the applicant is working within the existing zoning (set by previous Council) and that decisions on height and density will not come before this Council to grant planning permissions. That said, I remain optimistic and diligent that this development can be done right.