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Oakville can now require affordable units near two GO stations. Here is what inclusionary zoning does

On 19 May 2026 Council approved Official Plan Amendment 77, the framework that lets the Town require a share of affordable units in new buildings around the Midtown Oakville and Bronte GO station areas.

OakvilleIQ Newsroom2 sources · 2 min read

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Satellite view of Oakville showing both the Oakville GO and Bronte GO station areas covered by the inclusionary zoning framework
Imagery: Google, Airbus, Maxar Technologies
Aerial view of Oakville GO, Oakville
Imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Where this is

Where these 2 sites are in Oakville2 sites — Oakville GO and Bronte GO, on a map of the Town of Oakville and its Official Plan communities.Oakville GOBronte GO
Oakville GOBronte GOOutlines are the Town’s Official Plan communities.
In this story4 sections
  1. What happened
  2. Key facts
  3. Why it matters
  4. What happens next

The details

What happened

On 19 May 2026, at its Planning and Development meeting, Oakville Council approved Official Plan Amendment 77, which enables inclusionary zoning in the Town's protected major transit station areas. The two areas it names are Midtown Oakville, around Oakville GO, and the Bronte GO station area.

Inclusionary zoning is a planning tool that lets a municipality require a share of the units in a new residential development to be affordable, rather than only asking for it. Ontario allows it only inside a protected major transit station area, which is why OPA 77 is tied to the two GO-station areas and not applied town-wide.

Key facts

Inclusionary zoning, as the Town describes it once by-laws are in force
Instrument
Official Plan Amendment 77 (OPA 77)
Approved by Council
19 May 2026
Where it applies
Midtown Oakville and Bronte GO protected major transit station areas
Affordable share
Up to 5% of units
Applies to buildings of
10 or more units
Affordability period
Up to 25 years
Affordable to
Moderate-income households

Why it matters

This is the first time Oakville can compel, rather than negotiate for, affordable units inside new private buildings. The scope is deliberately narrow: it is capped at up to 5% of units, runs for up to 25 years, and only in buildings of ten units or more inside the two GO-station areas. Those are the areas where the Town expects the most high-density housing this decade, including the Midtown towers.

The qualifier matters. "Up to 5%" and "up to 25 years" are ceilings set by the framework, not fixed requirements; the figures that actually bind a given site come from the implementing by-law for that area. Until those by-laws are in force, no project is yet subject to a numeric inclusionary-zoning obligation.

What happens next

From framework to requirement

  1. Done: Enabling amendment approved

    OPA 77, approved by Council 19 May 2026.

  2. Now: Implementing by-laws

    Zoning and community-planning-permit by-laws that set the binding figures.

  3. Next: Requirement applies

    New qualifying developments in the two GO areas must include affordable units.

Sources

Every factual claim above traces to one of these documents.

  1. Town of Oakville

    Inclusionary Zoning

    Retrieved September 25, 2026

  2. Town of Oakville

    Midtown Oakville Growth Area Review

    Retrieved September 25, 2026

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