Official Plan Review – Shaping Guelph OPA 80

About the project

The City updated its Official Plan to conform to changes to Provincial legislation and policies as part of Official Plan Amendment 80, which was adopted by the Council of the City of Guelph on July 11, 2022 and approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on April 11, 2023.

Minister’s approval

Guelph’s Official Plan (OP) is a legal planning document that establishes a vision for the future of the municipality and provides policy direction to manage future land use patterns and growth. An OP covers:

  • How land can be used, whether it should be used for houses, industry, offices, commercial, parks, natural areas or a mix of uses;
  • What services, like roads, sewers, parks and schools are needed; and,
  • When, and in what order, parts of the municipality will grow.

Revisions to the Official Plan ensure Guelph conforms and is consistent with:

  • Recent amendments to the Planning Act,
  • Recent amendments to the Clean Water Act,
  • The Provincial Policy Statement (2020), and
  • A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2019).

To initiate a five-year review of an Official Plan, the Planning Act requires a special meeting of Council, open to the public, be held to discuss OP revisions that may be required.
This special meeting of Council was held on November 9, 2020.

Watch the recording of this meeting
Review the Five-Year Review of the Official Plan Report

The Official Plan Review occurred concurrently with Shaping Guelph. Shaping Guelph explored how and where Guelph can grow over the next 30 years to meet provincial forecasts and targets in a way that works for Guelph. The Official Plan review and Shaping Guelph resulted in an Official Plan amendment(s) to ensure Official Plan conformity with provincial legislation and policies.

Decision Meeting

On July 11, 2022, the Council of the City of Guelph adopted Official Plan Amendment 80 to conform to provincial plans and policies and conform to A Place to Grow.

Adopted Official Plan Amendment 80 – July 11, 2022

Decision Report: Shaping Guelph Official Plan Amendment 80 – July 11, 2022

July 11, 2022 Decision Meeting video

Statutory Public Meeting and Open House

In March of 2022, an Open House and Statutory Public Meeting of City Council were held in accordance with Section 26 of the Planning Act to consider proposed Official Plan Amendment 80. Draft Official Plan Amendment 80 provides the policy and schedule changes for the Shaping Guelph: Official Plan Review.

Draft Official Plan Amendment 80, March 30th, 2022

Official Plan Review Policy Paper

The Official Plan Review Policy Paper was received by the Committee of the Whole on May 3, 2021 and City Council on May 31.

Watch the recording of this meeting
Review the Official Plan Review Policy Paper

Community engagement

The OP Official Plan (OP) review included the following community touch points for input:

  • Special meeting of Council to discuss OP revisions that may be required, which occurred on November 9, 2020.
  • Release of a policy paper or papers
  • Statutory open house to discuss draft OP policies, which occurred on March 22, 2022
  • Statutory public meeting (as part of a Council meeting) to discuss draft OP policies, which occurred on March 30, 2022
  • Council decision meeting, scheduled for July 11, 2022

A community engagement plan has been developed to address key aspects of the Official Plan review. The community engagement plan and consultation process goes above and beyond the minimum statutory requirements of the Planning Act. Over the course of 2021, the City undertook several engagement opportunities to receive feedback on the Official Plan Review Policy Paper. A Policy Paper Engagement Summary Report is available for review

Background

The Provincial Planning Act (Section 26) requires that the City’s Official Plan be reviewed every five years (or ten years after the approval of a new Official Plan) to ensure it conforms to Provincial legislation, policy and plans.

The City adopted its last comprehensive review of the Official Plan in June 2012 (known as OPA 48) which was approved by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in October 2017, with some exceptions.

Since 2017, the Province has updated the Planning Act and the Clean Water Act and released a new Growth Plan and Provincial Policy Statement. The new Provincial Policy Statement came into effect on May 1, 2020 and A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (APTG) came into effect in 2019 and was subsequently amended in August 2020.

Resources and documents

For more information

Planning and Building Services
[email protected]