Official Plan Review

Current Official Plan

Ontario's Planning Act requires municipalities to conduct an Official Plan review every five years to ensure it conforms with or does not conflict with provincial plans, has regard to matters of provincial interest and is consistent with provincial policy statements.

The Town of St. Marys has initiated a review and update of the Official Plan in accordance with these Planning Act requirements and to support new strategic goals and community priorities with respect to growth and development in the Town.

What is an Official Plan?

An Official Plan is a statement of goals, objectives and policies intended to guide future land use, physical development and growth in the Town of St. Marys. The policies of the Plan are designed to:

Identify and promote a vision and character for the community
Direct the future orderly and efficient growth of the Town
Identify where municipal services and infrastructure are required
Reflect the collective aspirations of residents and business owners
Identify how natural, cultural and other resources should be protected
Support healthy and sustainable community principles
Provide a basis for the Zoning By-law and other land use controls

Draft Official Plan

An updated version of the draft amended Official Plan will be presented to Council on January 14, 2020. Versions with and without tracked changes are provided below.

Draft Official Plan - Track Changes Off (clean version)
Draft Official Plan - Track Changes On (version showing edits)

Virtual Open Houses

You are invited to attend an open house to receive an update on the Official Plan Review project, ask questions, and provide comments on the draft Official Plan. Please note that this is not the statutory open house required under the Planning Act.

Two virtual open houses will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2020

Virtual Open House #1: 2:00 to 2:45 pm
Virtual Open House #2: 6:30 to 7:15 pm

How to attend

Visit our YouTube channel during the open houses to view a live stream of the proceedings. The video will also be available on this channel after the open houses have ended.

How to participate

You can provide comments, ask questions and/or participate in the discussion during the open houses by emailing your comments to planning@town.stmarys.on.ca.

You can also join a Zoom meeting by video or telephone during the open houses (instructions below).

Virtual Open House #1: 2:00 to 2:45 p.m.

To connect by video (using a computer, tablet or smartphone):

Click the following link or copy/paste it into a web browser: https://zoom.us/s/94726215254?pwd=WEFIQ3V4Z0ZSaG5ucys0ZWFiLzFGQT09
Enter the passcode: 941872
Select the “raise hand” function to be placed in the queue for questions and comments during the meeting. The moderator will unmute each attendee in sequence order for an opportunity to speak.

To connect by telephone:

Dial: 1-855-703-8985 (toll free)
Enter the webinar ID: 947 2621 5254
Enter the passcode: 941872
Select “*9” to be placed in queue to provide questions and comments during the meeting.

Virtual Open House #2: 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

To connect by video (using a computer, tablet or smartphone):

Click the following link or copy/paste it into a web browser: https://zoom.us/s/91539510495?pwd=V0lnY0dSVjVDbTBxQnRDSzhXZnkwUT09
Enter the passcode: 828579
Select the “raise hand” function to be placed in the queue for questions and comments during the meeting. The moderator will unmute each attendee in sequence order for an opportunity to speak.

To connect by telephone:

Dial: 1-855-703-8985 (toll free)
Enter the webinar ID: 915 3951 0495
Enter the passcode: 828579
Select “*9” to be placed in queue to provide questions and comments during the meeting.

If you are unable to attend the virtual open houses, but would like to provide comments/questions, you can do so in any of the following ways:

Mail: Grant Brouwer, Director of Building and Development, Town of St. Marys, 408 James Street South, P.O. Box 998, St. Marys, ON, N4X 1B6.
Email: planning@town.stmarys.on.ca
Voicemail: 519-284-2340 ext. 215.
- Note: Your comments and other contents of your recorded message will become part of the public record. However, you must leave your first and last name, mailing address and contact phone number for your comments to be part of the public record

Project Materials

Discussion papers

A series of Discussion Papers have been prepared to address issues related to the Official Plan review. The following draft updated Discussion Papers were presented to Council on January 14, 2020.