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Burlington's Committee of the Whole spent most of February 9 grappling with the collapse of the new home construction market. Three industry delegations urged council to adopt a two-year, 100% elimination of residential development charges (DCs) — fees paid by developers to fund growth-related infrastructure — warning that without bold action, Burlington's housing pipeline is effectively dead.

The meeting also addressed a new summer music festival replacing the long-running Sound of Music, a climate action plan update, debate over leaving the X (formerly Twitter) social media platform, a recreation fee assistance program showing strong results, a governance policy review, and a festival parade dispute.

All recommendations from this committee require final approval at Burlington City Council on February 17, 2026.

Why It Matters:

Burlington residents face potential long-term financial consequences from both the housing crisis and the proposed DC elimination. If no projects proceed, the city collects no DC revenue and loses future property tax assessment growth. If the DC exemption triggers construction, residents benefit from expanded housing supply and a stronger property tax base. Every agenda item carries direct fiscal implications for the 2026 tax base and beyond.

Three industry representatives appeared before committee urging council to approve Option A, a temporary two-year elimination of all residential development charges for Burlington.

Mike Collins Williams, CEO of the West End Homebuilders Association (WHBA), which represents more than 300 member companies across Hamilton, Burlington, and Grimsby, delivered the opening delegation virtually from Ottawa, where he was simultaneously meeting with federal cabinet ministers on the same issues.

He told committee new home sales in Burlington collapsed from 213 units in 2022 to just 17 units in 2025 — a decline of over 90%. In the condominium market, only four units sold in all of 2025. He noted the staff report before committee cited 12 condo sales in the first three quarters, but several of those projects were subsequently cancelled.

Collins Williams pointed to recent provincial changes under Bill 17, the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, which gives municipalities the flexibility to temporarily reduce or eliminate development charges without a new background study. He noted that Hamilton reduced DCs by 20%, Mississauga cut them by 50% and eliminated them entirely for rental units, Peel Region implemented a DC deferral and grant program, and Bolton rolled back DCs to 2018 levels.

Travis Nolan, VP of Development at National Homes, cited data from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) showing only 3,247 new single-family home sales across the entire Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in 2025, down 37% from 2024. Condominium apartment sales fell 54% year over year to just 2,671 units. He asked committee to specifically advocate to the Region of Halton for a coordinated DC exemption for units within Burlington's built boundary, noting Burlington's city-level DCs account for only 25% of the total DCs payable on a new home — regional, provincial education, and other charges make up the rest.

Victoria Martelliti, representing BILD, noted Burlington has 44,947 units in its development pipeline across various planning stages. Excluding pre-application and appeal items, over 20,000 units would normally be expected to move forward in a functioning market. "We are not in a normal market," she told committee.

Carmina Tupe of Trinity Point Developments spoke in person about her company's stalled 23-storey condominium project at 2072 Lakeshore Road near the waterfront. The project received zoning approval in September 2025 but has since halted due to escalating costs, high financing rates, and the "complete exit of pre-construction sales." The company is now exploring whether to pivot to senior housing or purpose-built rental. Tupe said even the city's portion of DC savings — approximately $11,000 per unit — would meaningfully affect the project's pro forma.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward asked Collins Williams whether DC elimination would unlock specific local projects. He tempered expectations, saying Burlington's move would be significant as the first municipality to reach 100% elimination, but that DCs are layered with other taxes. He estimated that combined relief from municipal, provincial, and federal sources could reach $100,000 per unit, which would be transformative.

Councillor Angelo Bentivegna asked Collins Williams about broader economic impacts beyond developers themselves. Collins Williams noted that in 2025, an estimated 2,000 construction-related jobs were lost in Hamilton alone — more than twice the entire employment at Stelco's Hamilton facility. He described the housing industry as Ontario's largest employer, spread across every community and impossible to offshore.

Councillor Rory Nisan asked about the low-rise versus high-rise market.

He said low-rise is showing more signs of life in affordable peripheral communities like Paris, Woodstock, and Niagara-on-the-Lake, but Burlington's limited greenfield land constrains its low-rise potential. He also confirmed the GTA's problems are distinct from national trends — Alberta is on pace for record housing starts while Ontario's Golden Horseshoe struggles.

Councillor Paul Sharman noted Ontario's unemployment rate reached 7.9% in December 2025 and asked when construction job losses would peak. Collins Williams said the sector sheds jobs quietly — "a project completing and 20 people not getting redeployed" — and predicted losses would accelerate in 2026.

Nolan echoed that view:

No vote on the development charge options was held at this session. The committee's recommendation goes to Burlington City Council on February 17, 2026, for final decision. Vote names were not recorded at this stage.

Staff had estimated the two-year cost of full DC elimination at between $16.7 million and $41.3 million, though industry delegates argued the lower end is more realistic given the near-total absence of current development activity.

Adam Vickers from MRG Live — Canada's largest independent concert promotion company — presented plans for the 2026 Lakeshore Music and Arts Festival, a free two-day outdoor event planned for Father's Day weekend, June 20–21, at Spencer Smith Park.

The festival will feature three stages:

Brandt Street will be pedestrianized with approximately 130 vendor booths, with brick-and-mortar businesses given first right of refusal on space in front of their own storefronts at no charge.

Vickers confirmed the 2026 lineup will feature exclusively Canadian artists, drawing on MRG's existing artist database and opening local music submissions through the festival website this week. The company has already begun outreach to the Burlington Downtown Business Association (BDBA), Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC), the Art Gallery of Burlington, Chamber of Commerce, the Legion, and the Rotary Club.

On the question of volunteers, Vickers confirmed a volunteer registration form will be available on the festival website and that MRG intends to hire local crew.

Mayor Meed Ward raised concerns about the absence of a parade component, noting the Sound of Music Festival — which the Lakeshore festival replaces — originated as a marching band parade nearly 45 years ago. She asked whether community groups could deliver a parade alongside the festival rather than MRG itself.

Staff indicated a full parade requires approximately a year of planning, including road closures, safety mitigation, police coordination, and band honorariums, at an estimated cost of $50,000 to $60,000. The community survey conducted prior to selecting MRG did not specifically ask residents about the parade, meaning there is no data on public demand.

Councillor Bentivegna cautioned against layering another organization's parade on top of MRG's festival, suggesting it could complicate branding and logistics and that MRG had expressed openness to exploring parade elements in 2027.

Councillor Shawna Stolte said she had heard from community volunteers already interested in organizing a parade and argued the logistics were well-established after 45 years of operation.

Councillor Nisan proposed an amendment placing the community in the driver's seat — directing staff to make available funding from the Community Investment Reserve Fund and support any community-driven parade held at the same time as the festival, without directing staff to organize it themselves.

Mayor Meed Ward said the intent of exploring opportunities was the same either way, and confirmed that funding would need to be made available for community groups to step forward.

Vote Result: Carried (names not recorded by name in this session)

The amendment passed directing staff to support a community-driven parade at the same time as the Lakeshore Music and Arts Festival, funded from the Community Investment Reserve Fund.

A separate confidential legal advice item regarding the Lakeshore Music and Arts Festival (LLS-10-26) was discussed in closed session. No public outcome was reported.

Two community delegates presented to committee regarding Burlington's updated Climate Action Plan: Taking Action to Reduce Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions (PWS-01-26).

Amy Schneer of Burlington Green called on council to consider accelerating Burlington's 2050 net zero target, noting Toronto has set a 2040 target and Hamilton is examining earlier timelines.

She identified five priority areas:

Schneer noted that when reviewing the agenda's development charges discussion through a climate lens, she observed the festival report left "strategic alignment" with the environment unchecked, arguing that large-scale events should require greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction planning as part of every city request for proposal.

Jesse Elders of the Bay Area Climate Change Council — a collaboration between the cities of Hamilton, Burlington, and Mohawk College — endorsed the plan as science-based and said the council is a committed partner in implementation, not just adoption. The council has been applying for funding to advance sub-theme 13, which evaluates options for low-carbon new development through Burlington's Sustainable Building and Development Guidelines.

Elders noted municipalities indirectly influence up to 50% of community emissions through land use planning, building approvals, and transportation system design.

Councillor Nisan asked both delegates about strategies for reducing highway-related transportation emissions — Burlington's largest emissions source. Both noted that provincial highway expansion would increase, not reduce, vehicle emissions, and called for stronger municipal advocacy on transportation policy while simultaneously advancing building retrofit programs.

Councillor Sharman asked whether the plan adequately addressed emerging transportation technologies. Elders said planned reviews of emissions forecasting and pathway analysis would be appropriate moments to embed new and emerging technologies into future climate action planning.

Item 7.3 (Burlington Climate Action Plan) was pulled from the consent agenda by Councillor Sharman. No final vote details were recorded by individual name.

Jim Thompson, a public delegate, told committee that both the Council Code of Good Governance and the Council-Staff Relations Policy have not been formally reviewed since 2022, despite their own stated review schedules. He cited a June 2023 Integrity Commissioner report recommending the Code of Good Governance be updated to a more robust version with better policy guidance.

Thompson noted that of 77 corporate policies listed on the city's website, 44 were past their stated review-by dates. He argued the issue represents a "systemic failure of governance" and called for a scheduled program to bring overdue policies current.

Councillor Nisan confirmed a motion would be forthcoming touching on the governance policy items. Councillor Sharman acknowledged that council itself shares responsibility, noting the absence of quarterly reporting on outstanding staff directions had gone unaddressed.

The vote outcome on the governance policy amendments (CO-04-26) was not clearly recorded in the transcript and flows to Burlington City Council on February 17, 2026 for final decision.

A separate but related item, the amendment to the procedure bylaw (LLS-07-26) providing clarity on member speaking time and questions, was moved and passed without significant debate.

Vote Result: Carried (names not recorded individually)

Councillor Nisan brought forward a motion memorandum (CO-05-26) directing staff to report on leaving the X social media platform, citing a significant decline in engagement, concerns about the platform's content moderation practices, and the conduct of its owner.

City staff, including newly appointed Director of Communications Ashley, acknowledged engagement on X has declined sharply since the platform's ownership change, but cautioned against an abrupt departure. A jurisdictional scan found Burlington's peer municipalities — Halton Region, Halton Hills, Oakville, Milton, and Hamilton — all maintain active X accounts with tens of thousands of followers, while comparable social media platform, Blue Sky followings range from 111 to 261.

Mayor Meed Ward proposed broadening the motion to a full social media platform review, noting that some of her most serious personal experiences with threats, racist content, and harassment occurred on Instagram and Facebook, not X. She warned that surrendering the X handle could allow impersonators to take it over.

Staff recommended more time to gather data on engagement across platforms before making a final recommendation. The original April 13 reporting date was amended, first to Q3, then changed to Q4 2026 after the Acting Chief Administrative Officer noted the municipal election calendar may limit council's decision-making capacity in Q3.

Vote Result: Carried (names not recorded individually)

Direction: Staff to report back at a Q4 2026 Committee of the Whole on best use of social media platforms and the potential consequences and mitigation strategy of leaving the X social media platform.

Committee received a report on improvements to the city's Recreation Fee Assistance Program (CCS-02-26). In 2025, following changes to streamline the application process and reduce barriers, the program supported 167 families and 310 individuals. Top programs accessed included summer camps, children's and youth swimming lessons, and recreation swim yearly passes.

Key improvements included a sliding scale subsidy, seasonal allocation flexibility, expanded summer camp eligibility from two weeks to the full summer, and a two-year approval cycle to reduce reapplication burden.

Mayor Meed Ward called the results "outstanding" and requested a press release to ensure residents know the program is available. Councillor Bentivegna noted several faith communities and Special Olympics families in his ward have used the program and actively promote it to residents.

Vote Result: Received for information — Carried (names not recorded individually)

The following items passed on the consent agenda without individual recorded votes. Mayor Meed Ward and Councillor Nisan offered comments prior to approval.

The 2026 Halton Court Services Business Plan and Budget (LLS-06-26) was noted for its approximately 60,000 annual case volume and persistent backlog, with the mayor acknowledging recent provincial appointments of justices of the peace as a partial improvement.

A Reserve Fund request to strengthen municipal resilience (PWS-02-26) was supported without debate.

Heritage conservation agreements for Knox Presbyterian Church at 461 Elizabeth Street (DGM-09-26) and 2411 Lakeshore Road (DGM-10-26) were approved with commentary from both the mayor and Councillor Nisan supporting the use of heritage grant funding and noting future agreements will be handled under delegated staff authority.

Committee met in closed session from approximately 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on the following items:

Chair Galbraith declared a pecuniary interest on Item 9.4 due to properties proximate to his own. Item 9.2, the confidential contingency reserve status report (FIN-02-26), was not discussed in closed session and was received for information by open vote upon committee's return. Councillor Lisa Kearns (Ward 2) sent regrets and was absent from the full meeting.

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Source:

This analysis is based on the February 9, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting and supporting documents. All quotes, timestamps, and figures are drawn directly from official meeting transcripts.