County of Middlesex - Approval to amend a municipality’s official plan

Official Plan Amendment 4 (OPA 4) was adopted by the County of Middlesex on January 13, 2026, by By-Law No. 7390. OPA 4 addresses the changes to provincial policy since the last update of the County of Middlesex Official Plan in 2023. OPA 4 proposes to bring the county's Official Plan into consistency with the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS), as well as alignment with the county's Strategic Plan, to guide growth and development over a 30-year planning horizon to 2056. The OPA is now before the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for a decision in accordance with sections 17 and 26 of the Planning Act. 

OPA involves updated policies related to the following thematic areas: 

• Agriculture - The proposed changes address the provision of Additional Residential Units (ARUs) within prime agricultural areas, implementation of an agricultural systems approach, surplus dwellings, inadvertent lot mergers, and policies to support farm related business.
• Growth and Development - The proposed changes incorporate a policy framework to review privately initiated requests to expand settlement area boundaries based on the new PPS (2024) requirements. Additionally, the proposed changes also provide population, housing, and employment projections to 2056, based on the Ministry of Finance projections.
• Housing - The proposed changes include expanded language and updated definitions, new housing targets, and amended policies pertaining to Additional Residential Units to reflect updated provincial direction.
• Economy - The proposed changes reflect updates to the Planning Act and the PPS pertaining to employment areas and introduce the concept of Regionally Significant Employment Areas.
• Indigenous Engagement - The proposed changes included enhanced Indigenous consultation and engagement policies for all planning applications.
• Implementation - The proposed changes include policy language emphasizing a flexible, solutions-oriented approach to interpreting and implementing policies in its Official Plan, guided by the PPS. 

If approved, OPA 4 will apply to all the lands within the County of Middlesex administrative boundary.