Rory Nisan
Burlington's data centre: the facts
There's a lot of fear-mongering right now. The City has published the facts on the file — start there, not with panic politics or a copied Hamilton freeze.
What the City has confirmed
Per the City of Burlington's data centres page, staff have received a site plan application — not an Official Plan or Zoning Bylaw amendment — for a data centre on the former Mother Tucker's / Tucker's Marketplace site at 3110 South Service Road.
- A data centre is a permitted use on that property under the current Official Plan designation and Zoning Bylaw (defined as "Information and Data Processing" or "Office").
- The proposal is for a two-storey building with underground and surface parking. It has not been approved; it is in technical review.
- The applicant has indicated about 17 MW of electricity and has been working with Burlington Hydro on servicing.
- Halton Region bylaws say municipal water may not be used as cooling water — so data centres in Burlington must be air-cooled.
- Site plan review still covers setbacks, height, parking, landscaping, grading, driveways, and servicing. Staff also circulate to Burlington Hydro, Halton Region, and Conservation Halton where applicable.
This is how permitted uses work
Because the use is already permitted, this is a site plan file under the Ontario Planning Act — not a rezoning. The Planning Act requires site plan approval to be delegated to City staff, and it does not require a public meeting the way an Official Plan or Zoning Bylaw amendment would. That is the law for permitted employment uses, not a loophole that needs a special zoning carveout.
- If the application meets zoning, building code, servicing, and agency conditions, it should be decided on those rules — the same standard as other employment development.
- Electricity capacity is a real gate. Hydro and provincial grid reviews can delay or stop a project; that is due diligence, not a reason to invent a new land-use category after the fact.
- Different cooling model, different site, different process than Hamilton's harbour fight. Burlington should decide Burlington's file on Burlington's published facts.
Stay up to date
Fear-mongering thrives in an information vacuum. Get the next facts on this file from the campaign — and keep reading the City's own page.