‘People don’t want it’ says Burlington mayor on proposed waterfront development 

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Published September 23, 2021 at 11:58 am

The City of Burlington has 12 development applications pending and while many are contentious, the Waterfront Hotel seems to be creating a great deal of conflict despite the fact that a decision has not yet been made.

According to Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, the feedback she has received from the community is very straightforward.

“People don’t want it,” she said during an interview with inHalton.com.

“They do not want the redevelopment. They think it’s out of scale. They think it’s too high. They would either prefer all of it being purchased, if that were possible by the City, for parkland or a much-scaled back proposal.”

The proposed hotel is right next to Waterfront Park.

The mayor has emphasized that green space is the main community concern around this project.

“[People want to see] more green space and a scaled-back project so that they were loud and clear at the public meeting that we held that that was their vision for what should be on this property.”

When asked where she stands on the proposal, Ward said the City must review all the information it has.

“We have an obligation to objectively review all of the information.”

Meed Ward said that an application for the project has not yet been submitted to council. Once the application arrives, staff must review it and make recommendations. After that, council will examine it and ask the community to share any concerns.

A public meeting was recently held on the waterfront redevelopment and more are expected in the future.

Further information can be found on the city’s website.

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