Council approves gurdwara expansion at 2403 Khalsa Gate after a one-month deferral over neighbours' concerns

What Council decided

On February 17, 2026, Oakville's Planning and Development Council approved applications to expand the gurdwara at 2403 and 2417 Khalsa Gate, on the southeast corner of Khalsa Gate and Pine Glen Road in Ward 4. Council passed By-law 2026-009, adopting Official Plan Amendment 75 to the Livable Oakville Plan, and By-law 2026-010, amending Zoning By-law 2014-014 to permit the expansion of the existing place of worship and its parking lot. The item was on the consent agenda with a supplemental staff report and carried without a recorded vote.

The Town's notices name the applicant as Dhan Dhan Baba Budha Ji Gurdwara Sahib. The Town's application page lists the file under The Halton Sikh Cultural Association. The files are OPA 1430.34 and Z.1430.34.

What the amendments allow

According to the Town's notice of adoption, the amendments redesignate and rezone the lands to community use and change the site-specific policies that apply to them. Three changes stand out for neighbours. A multi-use pathway is to be dedicated in place of an extension of Baronwood Drive. Surface parking is allowed in front of and between buildings. Landscape buffers, setbacks and building height are modified. The notice does not give the new height limit or the size of the addition.

Why it was deferred

A staff recommendation report, with both by-laws attached, first came to Council on January 19, 2026. Council instead voted, on a motion by Ward 4 Councillors Allan Elgar and Peter Longo, to defer the item to February 17 so that matters related to site plan approval could be addressed. The motion listed what the screening had to cover: noise from vehicle movement and idling, headlights, light spill from parking lot lighting, snow storage locations and meltwater, and privacy.

Those concerns had been on the record for more than a year. At the statutory public meeting on December 9, 2024, a resident told Council of serious concerns about the size and height of the expanded building and its effect on the surrounding area. Council asked staff to report back on the history of the Baronwood Drive extension, whether the proposed parking would be enough, whether the height suited the neighbourhood, traffic, where visitors travel from, and who would maintain any easements. The Town's application page shows further submissions from the applicant in June 2025 and October 2025.

Where it stands

The Town issued its notice of the decision on March 18, 2026, with April 7 as the last day to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The Town's planning applications record, checked on November 9, 2026, lists both files at Council approval and neither as appealed.

The building itself still needs site plan approval, the stage where the screening, lighting and landscaping details Council asked about are settled. A site plan application for the expansion (file 1430.044/01) was filed in February 2026 and is listed as in circulation, with a second submission of site, elevation and landscape plans dated September 2026. The Town's record gives the site plan a gross floor area of about 2,629 square metres. Submitted plans are on the Town's application pages; the planner on the file is Riley McKnight, 905-845-6601 extension 2919.