Development Proposal: 0 & 8673 Eighth Line Urban Boundary Expansion Proposal (Esquesing)

The application seeks permission for an Official Plan Amendment to expand the Town’s urban boundary. The proposal includes:

• Delineation of the subject lands on various land use schedules of the Region of Halton and Town of Halton Hills Official Plan as an urban area for future employment/industrial uses (i.e. it would functionally provide for a further expansion of the Premier Gateway Employment Area);

• Policies have been proposed by the Applicant to be included in the Halton Hills Official Plan to address the requirement for a future Secondary Plan process, should they be included in the urban boundary; and,

• While a concept plan showing possible locations for new public roads and a relocated watercourse has been provided by the Applicant, it is presented for informational purposes only. Should the lands be included within the Town’s urban boundary, the Applicant intends for the future land uses, location of new roads and the relocation of watercourses to be identified as part of a future Town-led Secondary Plan process.

• Applications filed and public notification completed in August 2025 (view the Notice of Received Applications).

• A Statutory Public Meeting was held on December 8, 2025, with public meeting notification completed in November 2025 (view the Notice of Public Meeting).

• View the information staff report for the public meeting (REPORT NO. PD-2025-075) prepared by the Planning and Development Department.

• The initial application submission materials have been reviewed by staff, and technical comments have been provided to the Applicant. The submitted Land Needs Assessment and Agricultural Impact Assessment are being peer reviewed by independent third-party consultants.

• It is expected that the Applicant will respond to the initial comments through a future resubmission (this website will be updated accordingly at that time).

• Once staff have completed their review of the proposal, a Recommendation Report will be brought forward to Council for consideration.  Members of the public who have commented on the proposal, requested to be notified or who spoke at the December 8, 2025, Public Meeting will be provided notice of this future Council meeting. 

• If you have any questions about the proposed development, email Greg Macdonald, Senior Planner, Development Review

• Cover Letter

• Draft Official Plan Amendment

• Concept Plan

• Planning Justification Report

• Land Needs Assessment

• Agricultural Impact Assessment

• Environmental Conditions Report

• Scoped Servicing Study

• Transportation Impact Study

  • Appendix A

  • Appendix B

  • Appendix C

  • Appendix D

  • Appendix E

  • Appendix F

  • Appendix G

  • Appendix H

  • Appendix I

  • Appendix J

  • Appendix K

  • Appendix L

  • Appendix M

1. Who is the Owner and Applicant?

   Owner/Developer: Maple Mist Development Corporation

   Applicant: Corbett Land Strategies Inc.

2. What approvals is the Applicant seeking to permit the proposal?

   The proposal is for an Official Plan Amendment for an urban boundary expansion. The Applicant is seeking to include the subject lands as an urban area for future employment/industrial land uses.

3. Why is the Town considering this application?

   Ontario municipalities do not have the authority to refuse submission of a planning application filed by a private property owner. The Planning Act allows a landowner to advance any development proposal for their lands, regardless of whether it meets the intent of the applicable policy framework or not. The Town must fully evaluate the proposal before making any decision, as that decision can be appealed by the owner to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). Changes to provincial legislation resulting from the new 2024 Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) now allow private landowners to file an application to include their lands within a municipal urban boundary. See the Town’s Urban Boundary Expansion webpage for more information.

4. Who decides on the application?

   Town and agency staff complete a thorough review of the application and submitted materials, as well as receive public feedback to properly evaluate the policy and technical merits of the proposal. Once staff have completed their review, a Report will be brought to Council for consideration, providing staff recommendations. There is no timeframe in which staff will be in a position to bring forward a recommendation report. The decision regarding the applications resides with Council. The decision regarding any appeal of the applications resides with the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

5. What are the appeal rights for Maple Mist Development Corporation, the Town, neighbours, etc.?

   As a result of recent provincial changes to the Planning Act, third-party appeal rights have been removed for privately initiated development applications. This means that neighbours, residents or community groups may no longer appeal Council’s decision on the application to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). Only the owner/applicant, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and another public body/agency/utility/First Nations group may appeal the decision of Council to the OLT. The owner/applicant may also appeal to the OLT if Council does not decide within 120 days of the application being deemed complete. The 120-day deadline for this application was November 27, 2025. However, the Planning Act does allow residents to make a request to the OLT to be added as a party to any appeal filed by the above entities. The OLT may approve the request to be added as a party, provided the person made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the municipality before the decision was made and the Tribunal is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds to add the person as a party. Residents may also participate at the OLT via Participant Status which includes expressing their views on the proposal to the OLT via a written submission.

6. How can residents stay informed and give feedback?

   Any comments, questions or requests to be notified should be directed to Greg Macdonald, the Senior Development Review Planner assigned to the application on behalf of the Town. Email Greg Macdonald or contact him at 905-873-2600, ext. 2979. Join the mailing list for periodic project updates. Contact Greg Macdonald to sign up and receive future notifications regarding the application. Check back with this project page for ongoing updates and to view additional information

7. What are the next steps?

   The initial application submission materials have been reviewed by staff, and technical comments have been provided to the Applicant. The submitted Land Needs Assessment and Agricultural Impact Assessment are being peer reviewed by independent third-party consultants. Once those reviews have been completed, the comments will be provided to the Applicant. It is expected that the Applicant will respond to the initial comments through a future resubmission (this website will be updated accordingly at that time). Once staff have completed their review of the proposal, a recommendation report will be brought forward to Council for consideration. Members of the public who have commented on the proposal, have requested to be notified, or who spoke at the December 8, 2025 Public Meeting will be provided notice of this future Council meeting. This website will be updated as more information becomes available, including details on how the public can participate in a future Council meeting once the meeting date is confirmed.

8. If the Application is approved, does this mean that the lands are approved for development and that construction could start on the subject lands?

   No. If the application is approved, that only means the subject lands are now within the urban boundary and earmarked for future employment/industrial land uses. The subject lands would have to go through a Secondary Plan process initiated by the Town to identify matters such as permitted uses, environmental protection, the possible need for new roads, cultural heritage protection, compatibility with surrounding agricultural and residential properties, etc. The timeframe for when the Town may undertake a Secondary Plan exercise for the recently included employment lands adjacent to this parcel has yet to be determined. Once a Secondary Plan is approved, which could take a few years, the property owner would still be required to submit a development application to obtain the site-specific permissions to construct any new buildings on the property. Following that process, the Applicant would have to secure site servicing and obtain a building permit.