Consultation on simplifying and standardizing official plans

The government is seeking public feedback on proposed legislative and regulatory changes under the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 to streamline the construction of new homes and infrastructure (e.g., water, wastewater, roads, transit), reduce gridlock, enhance community safety, and improve landlord-tenant frameworks.

Under the Planning Act, the central activity for a municipality is making an official plan, a document which guides future development of an area in the best interest of the community as a whole.

Each municipality develops its own official plan, in accordance with provincial policies and plans, that sets out goals and rules to govern how it grows and develops. These plans are approved by either an upper-tier municipality or the province. Official plans are implemented locally through tools like zoning by-laws, site plans, subdivision plans, and community planning permit systems.

Why are official plans needed?

An official plan:

• sets goals for future development and policies on how to reach these goals
• makes the public aware of the municipality's general land use planning policies and helps all members of the community understand how their land may be used now and in the future
• helps communities effectively manage their land and resources while protecting the natural environment such as water resources and forests
• helps communities decide where and how to grow or build
• makes sure that growth is coordinated and meets the community’s needs
• provides a framework for establishing municipal zoning by-laws to set local regulations and standards, like the minimum and maximum size of lots and height of buildings
• provides a way to evaluate and settle conflicting land uses while meeting local, regional and provincial interests

Changes We’re Considering

During recent consultations, the government heard concerns that municipal official plans have become lengthy, complicated, and highly restrictive planning documents that take multiple years to prepare and update.

We are consulting on a proposal to set clear parameters for municipal official plans with the aim of increasing consistency across municipalities, while also reducing the burden of developing these plans.

Proposed changes range from simplifying and standardizing contents of official plans to be more strategic and flexible in terms of permissions to limiting the number of pages that could be in an official plan.

We want to hear best practices and examples of how we can support the creation of more flexible, streamlined, and growth-oriented official plans in Ontario.

A. Official Plan Structure and Contents

Currently, the content and structure of official plans are unique to each municipality. Concerns have been raised that official plans cover subjects that are beyond the scope of land use planning (e.g., history of the municipality, technical details of performance standards) and that there is duplication between upper and lower-tier official plans.

The government is seeking feedback on a proposal to:

• simplify and standardize the structure and contents of official plans across Ontario, see proposed structure and schedules listed below,
• limit development/zoning standards (e.g., building heights, lot sizes and density) in official plans and requiring existing development standards in official plans (e.g., in site specific policies) to be incorporated into zoning by-laws, and
• require official plans to be a singular, comprehensive document for the entire municipality, including potentially prohibiting the use of secondary or site-specific plans.

Proposed Standard Chapter Order (Mandatory Titles/Order) for Official Plans

1. Introduction & How to Use this Plan
2. Municipal Strategic Framework (Vision, Goals, Provincial and Regional Planning Context)
3. Indigenous Engagement & Interests
4. Settlement Area Structure & Growth Needs and Management (Analysis of Market Needs, Settlement Area Boundary Expansions, Serviced Land Needs, Intensification, Strategic Growth Areas, and 20–30 year land horizon)
5. General Policies Applicable to All Designations
   1. Natural & Human Made Hazards
   2. Cultural Heritage & Archaeology
   3. Community Design & Complete Communities
6. Residential and Mixed Uses (range and mix, affordability, inclusionary zoning)
7. Economy & Employment (areas of employment)
8. Infrastructure, Transportation, and Public Service Facilities (transportation, corridors, compatibility, wastewater/stormwater, energy, parks/open space)
9. Natural Heritage, Water Resources, Agriculture & Mineral Resources
10. Implementation & Interpretation (processes, tools, phasing, monitoring, s. 26 update, definitions)
11. Schedules & Appendices (standardized set)

Standardized Schedules, Overlays and Data

• A1 Estimate of Market Need
• A2 Serviced Land Requirement
• A3 Land Use Designations
• A4 Settlement Boundaries, Urban/Rural Structure, Provincial Plans (ORMCP, Greenbelt, NEP, etc.)
• A5 Strategic Growth Areas & Intensification Areas
• B1 Transportation & Corridors (Highways, Railways, Airports, etc.)
• B2 Wastewater & Stormwater
• C1 Natural Heritage System
• C2 Natural and Man-made Hazards
• C3 Human-made Hazards (pits and quarries, mineral aggregate resource deposits)
• C4 Agricultural System & Minimum Distance Separation (MDS), Agri-Food Network
• C5 Water Resources (drinking water source protection areas, etc.)
• D1 Cultural Heritage Resources
• E1 Community Facilities, Parks & Open Space
• F1 Wildland Fire Susceptibility

Schedules and overlays should use standardized naming (e.g., NHS-1 Significant Woodland; HZ-F Floodplain; EMP-AE Area of Employment). Metadata must include layer naming conventions, sources and dates, and link to provincial datasets.

Discussion Questions:

• What is your perspective on the changes being considered to simplify and standardize the structure and contents of official plans?
• What distinctions should be made between the content of upper and lower-tier official plans? What considerations should apply in municipalities where the upper-tier official plan acts as the lower-tier official plan?
• What is your perspective on limiting development standards in official plans? To what extent should development standards be set out in official plans vs in zoning by-laws?
• What is your perspective on the changes being considered regarding secondary plans and site-specific policies? Are there other ways to address these policies?
• What is your perspective on the number and types of standardized schedules, overlays and data proposed to be required? Should any be removed, or are there any other schedules that could help improve official plans?

B. Limiting the Length of Official Plans

Currently, the length of official plans varies across municipalities (e.g., from around 150 pages to over 600 pages). Ontario municipalities’ official plans also tend to have higher page counts than official plans in other provinces. The government is proposing to limit the length of official plans, for example, by setting a page limit (e.g., 250 pages) or a word limit (e.g., 65,000 words).

Discussion Questions:

• What is your perspective on the changes being considered to limit the length of official plans?
• Should there be different limits placed on different types of municipalities (e.g., based on population size)?
• Are there other approaches that could be used to limit the length of official plans?

C. Creating Permissive Land Use Designations

Currently, land use designations vary from one municipality to the next and some official plans have over 30 different land use designations. The government is proposing to standardize the number and type of land use designations, as well as make designations more permissive across Ontario’s official plans.

1. Residential I: Designated for low-rise/density residential buildings. Permits special needs housing, small-scale commercial uses (e.g., home businesses, neighbourhood convenience stores) and institutional uses (e.g., schools, places of worship, libraries, recreation centres)
2. Residential II: Designated for mid-rise/density residential buildings. Permits special needs housing, commercial uses and institutional uses (e.g., schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, places of worship, libraries, recreation centres)
3. Mixed Use Areas I: Designated for low/mid-rise/density buildings, including village or neighbourhood centres (local-scale mixed uses). Permits residential, special needs housing, commercial uses (e.g., offices, retail, hotels) and institutional uses (e.g., schools, colleges and universities, and hospitals, libraries, recreation centres) and industrial, manufacturing and small-scale warehousing uses that could be located adjacent to sensitive land uses without adverse effects
4. Mixed Use Areas II: Designated for high-rise/density buildings, including urban centres, transit station areas. Permits residential, special needs housing, commercial uses (e.g., offices, retail, hotels, entertainment) and institutional uses (e.g., schools, colleges and universities, and hospitals, libraries, recreation centres) and industrial, manufacturing and small-scale warehousing uses that could be located adjacent to sensitive land uses without adverse effects
5. Rural Areas: Designated for low-rise/density rural and related uses and small-scale employment/industrial uses. Permits low density residential, small-scale commercial uses (e.g., home businesses/ industries), small-scale employment/industrial uses, agricultural and agricultural-related uses, tourism, resource uses, cemeteries, etc.
6. Employment Areas: Designated for clusters of buildings and lands for business and economic uses that may require separation from some sensitive uses. Permits business and economic uses, including manufacturing, research and development in connection with manufacturing, warehousing, goods movement, associated retail and office, and ancillary facilities
7. Major Facilities: Designated for industrial and infrastructure land uses (other than employment areas) that require separation from sensitive uses. Permits uses including manufacturing, transportation infrastructure and corridors, rail facilities, marine facilities, sewage treatment facilities, waste management systems, oil and gas pipelines, industries, energy generation facilities and transmission systems, and resource extraction activities
8. Parks and Open Space: Designated for recreation and public open space. Permits recreation uses, public realm amenities including active parks, passive open space, and waterfront parks
9. Natural Heritage: Designated for the conservation of ecological features and functions, including core natural areas and linkage areas. Permits environmental protection areas, and identifies areas where development is not permitted, such as natural hazards
10. Agricultural Areas: Designated for agriculture and agriculture-related uses to preserve farmland and support the agricultural system, including prime agricultural lands. Permits agricultural and agricultural-related uses, as well as on-farm diversified uses (agri-tourism, value-added products, etc.).

Discussion Questions:

• What is your perspective on the changes being considered to standardize the number and type of land use designations?
• Would standardized land use designations between upper-tier and lower-tier official plan improve clarity? Where are the opportunities to reduce duplication between the upper and lower-tier official plans in land use designations?
• Are there additional designations that would be required? Are there opportunities to streamline or further combine some of the proposed designations (e.g. Residential I and II, and Mixed Use I and II)?
• Are there implications to making land use designations more streamlined and permissive?
• Are there land use designation terminology or descriptions that would be easier to understand?

D. Transitioning to a New Framework

In some instances where new land use planning rules are enacted, provisions are included to facilitate an orderly transition to the new rules. The government is considering approaches to transition including:

• Requiring new official plans to comply with a new official plan framework at their next 5- or 10-year update, as required by the Planning Act,
• Requiring that lower-tier municipalities wait until the upper-tier municipality with planning responsibilities have completed their transition before they update theirs,
• Setting a date for official plans to comply with a new official plan framework, for example, within 2 years of a new framework coming into force, or
• Requiring large and fast growing to update their official plans within 2 years of a new framework and allowing smaller and rural municipalities to update their official plan at their next 5- or 10- year update.

Discussion Questions:

• What is your perspective on the changes being considered to transition to a standardized official plan framework?
• What is a realistic implementation timeline for your municipality to update its official plan to comply with a standardized framework (e.g., structure, land use designations, page/word limits), and why? Please consider staffing, council cycles, data/mapping updates, public engagement, and statutory review requirements in your response.
• How can the province best support municipalities in transitioning to a simplified and harmonized official plan framework?

E. Submission of Official Plans through Online Portal

Regulations under the Planning Act specify the way information and material can be submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing as part of a planning matter (e.g., by personal service, mail, fax or email). In line with the digital-first approach, the government is considering regulatory changes to allow the submission of official plan information and documents to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing through an online portal.

Discussion Questions:

• Do you support the move toward allowing submission of official plan information and documents through an online portal? Why or why not?
• What benefits and/or risks do you foresee from transitioning to submission through an online portal?