Growth Management Study and Municipal Comprehensive Review

July 9, 2024 — Norfolk is moving ahead with the next phase of comprehensive amendments to its Official Plan this Fall. This work will further implement the findings of the multi-faceted Growth Management Study, GROW Norfolk, and ensure conformance with provincial policy.

Read the full media release.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Council of the Corporation of Norfolk County made a decision on the 22nd day of May 2024 to adopt Amendment Number 163 to the Norfolk County Official Plan adopted by Norfolk County By-Law Number 2024-48 under Section 17(23) and 26 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13.

The Purpose and Effect of the Official Plan Amendment:

This growth management Official Plan Amendment (OPA) has been prepared in association with the County’s Municipal Comprehensive Review to bring the County Official Plan into consistency with the Planning Act, to ensure that it has appropriate regard for matters of Provincial interest, and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020. It includes updates to policies in relation to growth forecasts (population and employment), growth targets such as density requirements, and types of developments; identifies locations for settlement area boundary expansions and adjustments (Urban Areas only in this phase and including boundary rationalizations) including updating policies and mapping schedules; identifies changes to Protected Industrial locations including updating policies and mapping schedules; provides policy direction for the future planning, land use designation amendments and servicing strategies for any lands to be added to the settlement boundary; and provides policy updates related to requirements for new development within any new area. OPA 163 applies to all lands in Norfolk County.

Effect of Written and Oral Submissions on Decision

Submissions regarding OPA 163 were received and considered as a part of the County’s review process. Written submissions received in advance of the April 16, 2024, Special Council Meeting and May 22, 2024, Special Council Meeting can be found on the associated agenda located at https://www.norfolkcounty.ca/government/agendas-minutes/. Oral Submissions can be reviewed on the Norfolk County YouTube Page youtube.com/@norfolkcounty1073/streams.

Approval Authority and Notice of Decision

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is the approval authority of OPA 163. Pursuant to subsection 17(36.5) of the Planning Act, the Minister’s decision on OPA 163 is final and not subject to appeal. Any person or public body is entitled to receive notice of the Minister’s decision regarding OPA 163 if a written request containing the person’s or public body’s address is made to the Minister. Requests to receive the notice of decision should be sent to the:

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Municipal Services Office Western Ontario

659 Exeter Road, 2nd Floor

London, ON N6E 1L3

Additional Information

For more information on OPA 163, contact the Planning Department by email at GROWNorfolk@NorfolkCounty.ca or call 519-426-5870 ext 1842. Information and material relating to the OPA 163 will be available for public inspection by appointment or by visiting https://engagenorfolk.ca/growth-management-study.

Accessible formats and communications supports are available upon request, please notify the project team by emailing GROWNorfolk@norfolkcounty.ca or by calling 519-426-5870 x. 1842

Other Related Applications

Applications for an Official Plan Amendment (OPNPL202303), a Zoning By-law Amendment (ZNPL2023037) and a Plan of Subdivision (28TPL2023070) have been submitted for a portion of the subject lands located in Delhi.

The associated by-law and accompanying report for the Phase 1 Municipal Comprehensive Review Official Plan Amendment has been posted to an upcoming Council Meeting agenda:

Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. (meeting begins at 1 p.m.)

Place: Norfolk County Administration Building, 50 Colborne Street South, Simcoe Ontario.

The agenda, including the staff report, is now available: HTML & PDF

Those wishing to speak at the meeting, who did not previously, should fill out a deputation form here.

Written comments can also be provided via email by sending the comments to Clerks@norfolkcounty.ca

Urban boundary change by-law review will take place at the Council Meeting on Wednesday, May 22 at 5 p.m.

Community members may speak at this meeting by registering to provide a deputation at NorfolkCounty.ca/Deputations. Written comments can be sent by email to clerks@norfolkcounty.ca, or by mail.

In association with the Municipal Comprehensive Review.

A Special Meeting of Council has been scheduled in relation to the County updating the Official Plan as a part of the Municipal Comprehensive Review pursuant to Section 26 of the Planning Act:

Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 8:30 a.m.

Place: Norfolk County Administration Building, 50 Colborne Street South, Simcoe Ontario.

The agenda, including the staff report, is now available: HTML & PDF

Those wishing to present should email GROWNorfolk@norfolkcounty.ca or fill out a deputation form here.

Written comments can also be provided via email by sending the comments to GROWNorfolk@norfolkcounty.ca

As a part of the comprehensive review process, settlement boundaries for the urban areas are currently being evaluated. A two-pass system was established as part of the evaluation process of the proposed expansion lands. Lands were first assessed as individual parcels and second through a community analysis to evaluate known advantages or disadvantages that could be identified at the community scale that were not obvious through first pass component that occurred on a site-by-site basis.

The first portion of the evaluation was based on criteria established by the project technical team. The technical team convened over multiple days to confirm critical factors linked to the project’s overall theme, which itself was derived from the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020; the goals and objectives laid out in Norfolk County’s Official Plan; the project themes approved through the Terms of Reference and various technical papers (Volumes 1 to 6) and fine-tuned with the guidance of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, Our Future Norfolk. Those factors were then paired with metrics predominantly based on geospatial data. These metrics were universally applied to the identified candidate parcels to provide an overall score, which then provided an initial ranking for further evaluation through pass 2.

Through the stakeholder meetings held following the Public Information Centre (PIC) on February 8, 2024, additional feedback was collected regarding individual parcels and interest in the evaluation process components. In response to the requests for the Pass 1 data at those meetings, staff have formatted and packaged the individual parcel scores for stakeholders to review.

Staff would like to reiterate the draft nature of the proposed boundary expansions outlined in the PIC and that the reports and recommendations that will be part of the Special Council Meeting on April 16, 2024, will provide the formalized recommendations of staff, including consideration of the feedback that was collected following the PIC.

Property owners and their representatives can request a copy of their criteria score information by emailing GROWNorfolk@NorfolkCounty.ca.

A Special Meeting of Council has been scheduled in relation to the County updating pursuant to Section 26 of the Planning Act:

Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 8:30 a.m.

Place: Norfolk County Administration Building,

50 Colborne Street South, Simcoe Ontario.

Location of Lands Affected: All Lands Within Norfolk County (no key map provided)

The Purpose and Effect of the Official Plan Amendment:

This proposed growth management Official Plan Amendment (OPA) has been prepared in association with the County’s Municipal Comprehensive Review to bring the County Official Plan into consistency with the Planning Act, to ensure that it has appropriate regard for matters of Provincial interest, and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020.

This proposed OPA represents the first of two amendments to the existing County Official Plan that will establish where and how growth is to occur in the County to 2048 that will, among other matters:

• Update policies in relation to growth forecasts (population and employment), growth targets such as density requirements, and types of developments;
• Identify locations for settlement area boundary expansions (Urban Areas only in this phase) including updating policies and mapping schedules;
• Identify changes to Protected Industrial locations including updating policies and mapping schedules;
• Include potential rationalizations of Urban Area boundaries to remove any land that would no longer be considered as part of an urban area and not developed for urban uses;
• Provide policy direction for the future planning, land use designation amendments and servicing strategies for any lands to be added to the settlement boundary;
• Provide policy updates related to requirements for new development within any new area; and
• Implement other recommendations from the GROW Norfolk Study and municipal comprehensive review.

Additional information regarding the proposed Official Plan Amendment is available to the public for inspection at the Planning Department, Norfolk County, 185 Robinson Street, Suite 200, Simcoe, N3Y 5L6 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday or by calling 519-426-5870 x. 1842 or by emailing GrowNorfolk@NorfolkCounty.ca. The Planning Report regarding the proposed Amendment is available online the Friday prior to the Special Meeting of Council on April 16, 2024 by following the path and selecting Agendas, Public Meeting and select the date of the meeting: norfolkcounty.ca/government/agendas-minutes.

The Public Information Centre held by Planning staff on February 8, 2024 provided an opportunity for the public to view a presentation and review draft proposed urban boundary expansion concepts.

As a part of the presentation, the specific policy and evaluation criteria categories used by the technical team as part of the comprehensive process to review all potential land parcels being considered as part of this process were presented.

To supplement the information provided during the presentation (and available on a copy of the presentation slides here on Engage Norfolk), the project team has also prepared a compendium document that provides further information about the evaluation criteria in hopes of supporting ongoing discussions with and feedback from the public: Supplemental Evaluation Criteria Document

The project team looks forward to future discussions with members of the public on this project. Timeslots for meeting with staff are now closed.

View a copy of the slides presented on February 8, 2024 here: Presentation

Want to set up a meeting with staff? Click here.

View maps of proposed changes:

Draft Proposed Protected Industrial Designation Changes

Draft Proposed Urban Boundary Expansions

Norfolk County is updating its Official Plan pursuant to Section 26 of the Planning Act. The primary purpose is to conform to the Provincial Policy Statement, to implement the recommendations of the GROW Norfolk Study and its related components and to complete the municipal comprehensive review. The proposed changes will help ensure that the County adequately plan for growth. The future amendment will apply County-wide.

A Public Information Centre is being held on:

Purpose: Norfolk County Official Plan Amendment

Date: Thursday, February 8, 2024

Time: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM with a brief presentation at 4:45 PM and closing remarks at 6:15 PM

Location: Multipurpose Room, Talbot Gardens, 10 Talbot St N, Simcoe, ON

The Purpose and Effect of the Future Official Plan Amendment:

The future Official Plan Amendment (OPA) will be prepared in association with the County’s Municipal Comprehensive Review to bring the County Official Plan into conformity with the Provincial Policy Statement, to ensure that it has appropriate regard for matters of Provincial interest, and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020.

The effect of the proposed amendment to the Norfolk County Official Plan is to occur in two phases. The first phase is intended to include:

• Policy updates in relation to growth forecasts (population and employment), growth targets such as density requirements, and types of developments

• Potential rationalizations of Urban Area boundaries to remove any land that would no longer be considered as part of an urban area and not developed for urban uses.
• Policy direction for the future planning, land use designation amendments and servicing strategies for any lands to be added to the settlement boundary
• Policy updates related to requirements for new development within any new area,

Second phase of the proposed official plan amendment is intended to include:

• Completion of Land Evaluation and Area Review with policy updates pertaining to a new land use designation such as rural land uses.
• Recommendations pertaining to hamlet settlement areas and rural lands.
• Recommendations regarding policies and land use designations pertaining to Natural Heritage features and Hazard Lands.
• Other Provincial Policy Statement conformity policy and/or schedule amendments.

Can't make it in person?

We understand that busy schedules mean that this date and time may not work for everyone. Following the live public information centre, a video recording and a copy of the presentation on this page. You can also provide written comment by emailing staff at GrowNorfolk@norfolkcounty.ca or mailing the Planning Department at 185 Robinson Street, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, N3Y 5L6