Midtown Oakville

Urban Strategies worked with a team of consultants to assist the Town of Oakville in implementing the Town’s vision for the Midtown Oakville Strategic Growth Area – an underutilized 103-hectare area located around the Oakville GO Station, building on content and direction established by other recent Town documents.  The first component of the Implementation Program included an Official Plan Amendment to manage anticipated growth in Midtown Oakville. Urban Strategies supported the Town of Oakville in preparing a foundational policy framework and draft Official Plan Amendment policies to guide future growth and servicing needs, enabling a more complete, compact, walkable community with increased housing, expanded parkland, and more efficient use of land and transit infrastructure.

The final Council-adopted Official Plan Amendment for Midtown reflects refinements made by the municipality through its internal review process, Council direction, and coordination with the parallel implementation of their Community Planning Permit System prior to submission to the Minister of Housing for approval.

Building on the Council-adopted version of the Official Plan Amendment, Parks Plan 2031, Livable by Design Manual, Transportation Plan, Stormwater Plan, Urban Strategies prepared the new Designing Midtown urban design guidelines, a comprehensive framework to shape Midtown Oakville into a vibrant, high-density, mixed-use community. The guidelines aim to foster a distinctive identity for Midtown Oakville, prioritizing a high-quality public realm, enhancing public life, and shaping a connected, walkable, and complete urban community.  The new Designing Midtown document provides clear urban design direction and performance standards for buildings, complete streets with active transportation infrastructure, and diverse parks and open spaces, all through human-scaled design.