Official Plan Review

The Official Plan is a strategic policy document that guides the long-term vision for growth and development of communities, as well as the protection of key resources.

The Official Plan contains both policy (text) and land use designations (mapping).

The Official Plan can be used by many people including the following:

• Property owners who want to develop or redevelop their property
• Municipal staff and Council to guide decisions on how the municipality changes
• Future residents or business owners who want to know what is permitted in the neighbourhood they want to buy a house or establish a business in

An Official Plan affects everyone by:

• Determining the location, types and densities of housing;
• Regulating where businesses can be established;
• Protecting natural areas;
• Identifying where growth and infrastructure should locate in future.

The Planning Act requires that Municipal Councils review their OP not less than every five years; as the last review occurred in 2014, another review is required.

Changes in the community since the last review include:

• increased commercial and residential development;
• shortages in housing overall and specific shortages in affordable housing;
• increased frequency of extreme weather events; 
• and demographic shifts.

It is important the Official Plan is updated to reflect how physical change will occur in response to changes in the community and the effects on social, economic, built and natural environment.

• Community Members
• Local interest groups (BIA, agricultural reps, service clubs, etc.)
• Central Huron and County Councils
• Staff from Central Huron and Huron County Planning & Development Department
• Agency and technical staff (Conservation Authority, Municipal Engineer)

If you and/or a community group are interested in participating in the review, please contact planning@centralhuron.com 

Open Houses have been scheduled in April through early May 2025 to gather public comment as outlined above. In addition, there will be a formal public meeting scheduled for further public comments before Central Huron Council adopts a finalized version of the amendment. 

Public comments and questions are welcome throughout the process.

•  Email planning@centralhuron.com
•  519-482-3997 x 1246

After the Official Plan amendment is adopted by Central Huron Council, the amendment is forwarded to the Council for the County of Huron for a decision. The decision of Huron County Council can be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal as set out in Planning Act section 17(36): 

Any of the following may, not later than 20 days after the day that the giving of notice of the decision is completed, appeal all or part of the decision of the approval authority to the Tribunal by filing a notice of appeal with the approval authority:

1. A specified person who, before the plan was adopted, made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the council.
1.1 A public body that, before the plan was adopted, made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the council.
1.2 The registered owner of any land to which the plan would apply, if, before the plan was adopted, the owner made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the council.
2. The Minister.
3. In the case of a request to amend the plan, the person or public body that made the request.

The prescribed list of ‘specified persons’ is as follows:
(a) a corporation operating an electric utility in the local municipality or planning area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(b) Ontario Power Generation Inc.,
(c) Hydro One Inc.,
(d) a company operating a natural gas utility in the local municipality or planning area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(e) a company operating an oil or natural gas pipeline in the local municipality or planning area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(f) a person required to prepare a risk and safety management plan in respect of an operation under Ontario Regulation 211/01 (Propane Storage and Handling) made under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000, if any part of the distance established as the hazard distance applicable to the operation and referenced in the risk and safety management plan is within the area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(g) a company operating a railway line any part of which is located within 300 metres of any part of the area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(h) a company operating as a telecommunication infrastructure provider in the area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(i) NAV Canada,
(j) the owner or operator of an airport as defined in subsection 3 (1) of the Aeronautics Act (Canada) if a zoning regulation under section 5.4 of that Act has been made with respect to lands adjacent to or in the vicinity of the airport and if any part of those lands is within the area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(k) a licensee or permittee in respect of a site, as those terms are defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Aggregate Resources Act, if any part of the site is within 300 metres of any part of the area to which the relevant planning matter would apply,
(l) the holder of an environmental compliance approval to engage in an activity mentioned in subsection 9 (1) of the Environmental Protection Act if any of the lands on which the activity is undertaken are within an area of employment and are within 300 metres of any part of the area to which the relevant planning matter would apply, but only if the holder of the approval intends to appeal the relevant decision or conditions, as the case may be, on the basis of inconsistency with land use compatibility policies in any policy statements issued under section 3 of this Act,
(m) a person who has registered an activity on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry that would, but for being prescribed for the purposes of subsection 20.21 (1) of the Environmental Protection Act, require an environmental compliance approval in accordance with subsection 9 (1) of that Act if any of the lands on which the activity is undertaken are within an area of employment and are within 300 metres of any part of the area to which the relevant planning matter would apply, but only if the person intends to appeal the relevant decision or conditions, as the case may be, on the basis of inconsistency with land use compatibility policies in any policy statements issued under section 3 of this Act, or
(n) the owner of any land described in clause (k), (l) or (m).

Only individuals, corporations or public bodies may appeal a decision of the approval authority to the Ontario Land Tribunal. A notice of appeal may not be filed by an unincorporated association or group. However, a notice of appeal may be filed in the name of an individual who is a member of the association or the group on its behalf.