City of Burlington "Gives In"

Hard to believe that forty years have passed since an east end resident’s group took up a fight from which Burlington City Council had backed down.  

On March 16, 1978 the Hamilton Spectator reported that even though the City of Burlington had given up its opposition to a McDonald’s restaurant a residents’ group was going to continue the fight.

A developer was keen to put a McDonald’s restaurant in Parkwood Plaza, a small plaza in south east Burlington Ontario.

Jim Ryan of Kenwood Avenue, a leader of the resident’s group, spoke with the Spectator at the time.

Jim Ryan addressing Council forty years ago

“The City appears only to have gone through the motions of opposing the restaurant,” said Ryan, who later became a City Councillor.

Ryan believed that the City’s decision meant that it was actually abrogating its planning responsibilities and passing on that responsibility to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Not just one but three OMB hearings were held before this planning issue was resolved.

Using accounts from local and national papers, I’ve assembled a community history of this seven-year battle.

You can find a serialized account at https://findingawaytofightbigmacattheomb.wordpress.com/