Georgetown GO's planned high-density zone, with buildings up to 16 storeys, now waits on the Province

What Council decided

On July 13, 2026, Halton Hills Council voted to adopt Official Plan Amendment 63, which creates a Protected Major Transit Station Area (PMTSA) around Georgetown GO Station. The adopting by-law, By-law 2026-0066, was passed at a special Council meeting on August 10, and the Town issued its notice of adoption on August 12. The amendment does not take effect unless the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing approves it.

At the same July 13 meeting, Council deferred a decision on Official Plan Amendment 64, the revised Georgetown GO Station Area/Mill Street Corridor Secondary Plan covering the rest of the study area, to the next term of Council. The Town says staff will bring OPA 64 back to the new Council.

What the protected area allows

The amendment's preamble describes the PMTSA as lands north and south of the station and to the west along the Mill Street corridor, and gives a size of approximately 24 hectares. It sits inside a 133-hectare station area first drawn by Halton Region in 2021. Staff say most of the land in the protected area already has approved or active applications for medium- and high-density housing. The plan for the area must support a minimum of 150 people and jobs per hectare, the Provincial Planning Statement's target for stations like this one.

Most of the planned growth is on the two high-density mixed-use designations, which the plan expects to hold about 2,422 of the 4,076 residents and 163 of the 231 jobs by 2051. In those designations, heights are meant to vary across each site to limit visual impact on the surrounding area.

Why the area shrank

Staff told the Province that setting a density target for the full 133-hectare station area was difficult. They pointed to its established low-density neighbourhoods, a cemetery, limited landowner interest in high-density projects, the lack of a local transit system and a road network of mostly two-lane roads. Working with an advisory committee of the Mayor, Ward 3 councillors and property owners from the area, which met four times in 2025, staff drew a smaller protected area focused on sites already planned for intensification, with the stated aim of leaving established low-density areas outside it. The adopted text still includes some Low Density Residential lots, which must develop at a minimum of 20 units per net residential hectare.

What happens next

Under section 17(36.1.4) of the Planning Act, cited in the Town's notice, nobody except the Minister can appeal policies that set up a PMTSA. Staff have said they will report to Council once the Minister's decision arrives. The amendment and by-law can be viewed at the Planning and Development Department at Town Hall on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.