County of Dufferin - Approval of a municipality’s official plan

Instrument type: Approval of a municipality’s official plan

ERO number
019-7419
Ministry reference number
22-OP-237156
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Notice stage
Decision
Decision posted
Comment period
August 16, 2023 - September 15, 2023 (30 days) Closed
Last updated

This consultation was open from:
August 16, 2023
to September 15, 2023

Decision summary

A decision was made on October 9, 2024 to approve with two modifications, Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 3 to the Dufferin Official Plan, as adopted by By-law 2023-43. OPA 3 updates the county's settlement area, land use, and natural heritage schedules to conform with provincial plans and policies, and to facilitate anticipated growth to 2051.

Location details

Site address

All lands within the County of Dufferin , ON
Canada

Site location details

Official Plan Amendment No. 3 applies to all lands within the County of Dufferin.

Site location map

The location pin reflects the approximate area where environmental activity is taking place.

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Proponent(s)

County of Dufferin
30 Centre Street
Orangeville, ON
L9W 2X1
Canada

Decision details

A decision was made on October 9, 2024 to approve with two (2) modifications, Official Plan Amendment 3 to the County of Dufferin Official Plan adopted pursuant to section 17 and 26 of the Planning Act by By-law 2023-43. Notice of this decision was issued on October 9, 2024 to the County of Dufferin. 

Official Plan Amendment 3 implement the expanded settlement areas for the Town of Grand Valley and the Town of Shelburne, as well as update the various land use designations within the County of Dufferin, Official Plan Amendment 3 also implements refinements to the prime agricultural lands and natural heritage system mapping within the county. Amendments to the text of the Official Plan are also included to ensure policies related to the county's prime agricultural lands and the Natural Heritage System reflect the updated schedules.

The adopted Official Plan Amendment was reviewed for consistency with the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), conformity with A place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (APTG), and regards for matters of provincial interests set out in the Planning Act.

There are two (2) modifications to Official Plan Amendment 3. Modification 1 ensured that policies related to the county's rural lands reflect the updated Schedule C - Prime Agricultural Areas and Rural Lands. Modification 2 ensured that policies related to the county's Natural Heritage System reflect updated Schedule E1 - Natural Heritage System. 

Comments received

Through the registry

9

By email

5

By mail

0
View comments submitted through the registry

Effects of consultation

Nine (9) comments were received through the ERO proposal notice for Official Plan Amendment 3. However, some of the comments on the preceding OPA 2 jointly addressed OPA 3 as well for a total of 16 related comments.  Five (5) submissions were received through email to Ministry staff. The comments received were related to the following issues: 

Site Specific Redesignation Requests - These were requests to change the proposed Official Plan designation for selected sites to facilitate housing development on greenfield sites. Some of the site-specific redesignation requests also included settlement area boundary expansion beyond what is already proposed in Official Plan Amendment 3, as well as municipal boundary adjustment (annexation) to expand the urban boundary in select local municipalities. The site-specific redesignation requests are for lands which are not currently serviced. The County of Dufferin growth management strategy is to direct most of the anticipated growth to its urban municipalities where servicing exist. The proposed land use designations support the county's growth management strategy and acknowledges the the servicing constraints facing the county.

Lack of clarity regarding the employment land needs of the county and the designation of employment lands - The mapping of the county's employment lands are presented in Official Plan Amendment 3, while detail employment land use policies are outlined in Official Plan Amendment 4 which is the next phase of the county's Official Plan update.  Further clarification to the employment land use policies will be considered in Official Plan Amendment 4. 

 

Supporting materials

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Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

Municipal Services Office - Western Ontario
Address

659 Exeter Road
Floor 2
London, ON
N6E 1L3
Canada

Office phone number

How to Appeal

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Original proposal

ERO number
019-7419
Ministry reference number
22-OP-237156
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Proposal posted

Comment period

August 16, 2023 - September 15, 2023 (30 days)

Proposal details

Official Plan Amendment No. 3 was adopted by the Dufferin County Council on July 13, 2023, by By-law No. 2023-43. The Official Plan Amendment is now before the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for a decision in accordance with sections 17 and 26 of the Planning Act. Official Plan Amendment No. 3 represents Phase II of the County’s municipal comprehensive review.

Official Plan Amendment No. 3 proposes to update the land use schedules of the county’s Official Plan to conform with A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement (PPS). Official Plan Amendment No. 3 also implements the county’s land needs assessment which was completed as part of Phase I of its official plan review. Official Plan schedule B and B1 implement the expanded settlement areas of the Town of Grand Valley and the Town of Shelburne and provide Employment Land designations throughout the County. Schedule C implements refinements to the prime agricultural Lands throughout the County; and Schedule E and E1 implement the Natural Heritage System for Dufferin County. Amendments to the text of the Official Plan are also included to ensure policies related to prime agricultural lands and the Natural Heritage System reflect the updated schedules.

If approved, Official Plan Amendment No. 3 would apply to all lands within the County of Dufferin.

Supporting materials

View materials in person

Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.

Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

Municipal Services Office - Western Ontario
Address

659 Exeter Road
Floor 2
London, ON
N6E 1L3
Canada

Office phone number

Comment

Commenting is now closed.

This consultation was open from August 16, 2023
to September 15, 2023

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