Burlington's three GO station areas: what is planned and approved for Burlington GO, Aldershot and Appleby

What the areas are

A major transit station area is the land around a higher-order transit station that a municipality plans for more homes, jobs and transit use. Burlington's Official Plan identifies three, one around each GO station: the Downtown Burlington Urban Growth Centre and Burlington GO, Aldershot GO and Appleby GO. The Official Plan calls them protected major transit station areas under the Planning Act, which lets the City set minimum density targets for them. The Province's notice describes each as lands within roughly 800 metres of its station.

Earlier City work from 2017 to 2018 used the name mobility hubs. Its draft precinct plans were not approved and were put on hold. The current project, the Major Transit Station Area Area-Specific Planning Project, started in 2021 and replaced that work.

What the plan sets for each area

The proportional targets are meant to be reached across each whole area to 2051 and beyond, and are to be monitored. The Official Plan says the three areas will be subject to further detailed area-specific planning, which sets land uses, heights and intensities. The Province's decision notice says policies on resident and job targets per hectare, permitted land uses and minimum and maximum densities in these areas are shielded from appeal.

How the approval has gone

What is in effect and what is under appeal

The City lists OPA 2 as appealed and partially in effect. Under the Planning Act, the parts of an approved plan that are not appealed took effect the day after the last day to appeal, October 31, 2025. The City's Interim Working Consolidation marks the text: highlighted text is under a broad appeal and not in effect, plain text is in effect, and text with a dashed border is under an area-specific appeal and in partial effect. For anything not in effect, the earlier Official Plan sections continue to apply, and the City's Zoning By-law remains in force until a permit system can be put in place.

Three appeals are listed on Ontario's Environmental Registry. The first, posted on November 13, 2025, is by 2731115 Ontario Inc. and others and concerns tall buildings, land use compatibility policies, minimum unit sizes and the replacement of employment uses. The second, posted on May 20, 2026, is by Bull Moose Tube Limited, about the Queensway Commons precinct designation and the permit system policies. The third, posted on May 29, 2026, is by Canadian National Railway Company, about land use compatibility with the Aldershot rail yard. The registry gives grounds only in summary, and the City has not published a hearing schedule.

The permit by-law, in plain terms

A community planning permit system replaces the Zoning By-law for an identified area with a single by-law and a single permit. The City's October 2023 draft said a permit application would be used in the three areas instead of zoning amendments, minor variances and site plan applications, and that individual permit applications would not need more engagement if the development met the by-law's standards or variation criteria. The final terms depend on the by-law Council eventually approves. OPA 2 only enables the system. The by-law itself is not in force, and Council has given it approval in principle only.

The City's Housing Accelerator Fund action plan lists the permit system around the three GO stations among its initiatives, with goals that include permitting six or more storeys and decisions within 45 days. Those are the City's goals for the system. They are not rules that apply today.

What this means for an application today

Until a permit system is in place, development near the stations is reviewed through the usual Official Plan, zoning and site plan applications described in our guide to Burlington's development process. Applicants and residents should check which Official Plan text applies to a given property, because it depends on whether the relevant OPA 2 policy is in effect.

Where to check

• The City's Major Transit Station Areas project page on getinvolvedburlington.ca, which carries updates and a news feed; the page was last updated in January 2026, before the Tribunal's June 3 order.
• The City's Official Plan Amendments page, which lists OPA 2's current status and links the Interim Working Consolidation.
• Ontario's Environmental Registry notice 019-8978 and its appeal notices, for the Province's decision and the appellants' stated grounds.
• The Ontario Land Tribunal's case status page, quoting case number OLT-25-000891, for orders and any hearing dates.
• The project team at mtsa@burlington.ca.