Waterdown Road: City land at 1022, 1028 and 1030 Waterdown Rd. was rezoned in May and approved for a nominal-value lease to Indwell

What Council decided

Three City-owned lots on Waterdown Road, at 1022, 1028 and 1030, are the site of an affordable housing project proposed by Indwell Community Homes. Council has made two decisions on it, and a third is still ahead.

The rezoning

The City's notice says By-law 2020.518 "rezones lands at 1022, 1028 and 1030 Waterdown Rd. to facilitate residential use as permitted by the Emery Commons Precinct." The City's project page describes the file as a City-initiated amendment to rezone the properties to adhere to the approved vision for the Emery Commons Precinct in Official Plan Amendment 2. A pre-application open house was held on March 31, 2026, and the statutory public meeting on May 12, 2026.

The City received 34 comments on the amendment, and there were seven delegations at the May 12 meeting and none at the May 26 Council meeting. Council's May 26 decision summary notes that the item relates to the April lease approval. The last day to appeal the by-law to the Ontario Land Tribunal was June 17, 2026, at 4:30 p.m.

Official Plan Amendment 2 is the City's plan for the protected major transit station areas around the Downtown Burlington and Burlington GO, Aldershot GO and Appleby GO areas. The City's Official Plan register lists it as "Appealed, partially in effect". The City pages read for this story do not say which parts of it apply to these three lots.

What has not been published

• The lease terms. Council approved them "generally in accordance with proposed terms to be negotiated" in a confidential appendix, so the rent, term and conditions are not public.
• The size of the building and the number of homes. The City's decision summaries and project page give none.
• A construction start or opening date.
• Funding. In March Council delegated authority to reallocate Housing Accelerator Fund money during 2026 if needed to help meet housing targets, and the approval was conditional on securing funding and financing. The pages give no project budget.

In March Council also directed staff to work with Halton Region on opportunities related to how tenants are selected, in line with community housing needs.

A naming mix-up to watch for

The City's project page is titled "1022, 1028, and 1033 Waterdown Rd." and its site-address heading also says 1033, but its description, the open house event title, the Council agenda, the notice of passing and the by-law itself all say 1030. This story uses 1030. The City's pages do not explain the 1033 in the title.

Where to ask

The planner on file for the rezoning is in Community Planning at 905-335-7777, extension 7326. The City's project page lists no further public meetings. General questions go to city@burlington.ca.