Official Plan Review

Official Plan Review

Every municipality in Ontario has an Official Plan, a  key document that lays out where and how we plan to grow into the future, and guides where we live, work, and play.  The Township's current Official Plan was put into effect on July 6, 2001.

The Township of Essa is currently developing a new Official Plan, to update the policies in our current Official Plan and bring the document into conformity with the latest provincial policies and community interests.  

The Official Plan Review was started in 2020, and then placed on hold in 2022 while the Township engaged with the Province and County of Simcoe to better understand the impact of legislative changes.

With most of the legislative changes still in place, SGL Planning & Design Inc. and Dillon Consulting were selected to continue the Official Plan Review for the Township of Essa. (May 1, 2024, as per Council Resolution CW041-2024)

There will be a range of opportunities for the community to share ideas and feedback as we develop the new policies and objectives for our Official Plan to guide the future of the Township.

FAQs

The results of the technical work and community engagement sessions completed to date are provided below. We will be working to review and update the summary of issues and opportunities for the Official Plan Review,  and will share summaries of upcoming sessions as they are completed. 

A Visioning Workshop (held in September and October of 2020) was the first public engagement portion of the OP Review. The Visioning Workshop took place over a two-week period, and provided residents with the opportunity to solicit feedback.

An in-person and virtual meeting was held at the Administration Centre on October 27, 2020.  The purpose of the meeting was to review the themes of the responses provided by the public, and to provide participants with a further opportunity to provide comments

The posterboards that were featured in the September 25th Open House can be found here. 

The purpose of the Official Plan Review is to fulfill the requirements of the Planning Act, which requires municipalities to conduct a review every ten years and to update local Official Plans to conform to provincial plans, policies and matters of Provincial interest. The Official Plan Review is a Township-wide initiative affecting all land within the Township of Essa. 

 

Feedback from the public is essential to ensure that the municipality's growth and development aligns with community needs and priorities.  All feedback will be considered prior to Council making any decisions.

How long will the Official Plan Review take?

The Official Plan Review is being undertaken in four main phases:

  1. Background research and data collection, including opportunities for community input (Summer 2024)
  2. Development of issues and options for the new Official Plan policies (Fall 2024)
  3. Preparation of the Draft Official Plan (Winter and Spring 2025)
  4. Finalization and adoption of the new Official Plan (Summer and Fall 2025)

The process is currently estimated to be complete at the end of 2025.

 

Essa commenced its OP Review in the fall of 2020.

The following planning documents guide land use planning in Ontario, including:

 

The new OP will be considered by Council and the County of Simcoe.  The County's decision is subject to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

The new OP may impact the zoning of certain properties.  The Planning Act requires that the Township of Essa updates its Zoning By-law three years after a new OP is approved.

Essa's new OP will address the following planning and policy areas:

  • achieving sustainable development
  • delivering a sufficient supply of homes
  • building a strong and competitive local economy
  • ensuring the vitality of settlement areas and promoting healthy and safe communities
  • promoting sustainable transport
  • supporting high-quality communications
  • making effective use of land
  • achieving well-designed places
  • conserving and enhancing the natural environment
  • conserving and enhancing the historic environment
  • meeting the challenge of climate change

We want our new OP to reflect community goals and priorities.  We encourage residents to get involved by participating in one of the following ways:

  • Visioning Workshop
  • Virtual Stakeholder Meetings
  • Statutory Public Open Houses & Meetings

When the time comes, residents of the Township of Essa will be informed and given the opportunity to comment.

We will provide information about the OP Review through the following methods:

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Township of Essa
officialplan@essatownship.on.ca  
Phone: 705-424-9770
Fax: 705-424-2367
TTY: 705-424-5302

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