Huron County - Approval to amend a municipality’s official plan

OPA No. 5 is a five (5) year review of the County of Huron Official Plan. The purpose of OPA No. 5 is to amend the County of Huron Official Plan to ensure consistency with the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement and to consider other policy changes that have been raised through the public and agency consultation process.

Proposed revisions to the Huron County Official Plan include:

• Updated language regarding public consultation practices, including consultation with Indigenous communities, in accordance with Bill 73;
• Inclusion of drinking water source protection policies;
• Revision to the Source Water Protection Areas Map;
• Updates in the economy section to reflect the County’s economic development strategy;
• Policy updates to the agriculture, natural environment, extractive resources, settlement patterns and community services sections;
• Policy additions to reflect the 2020 updates to the Provincial Policy Statement such as lengthening the planning horizon (20 to 25 years), increasing the mix and supply of housing, ensuring employment lands are available, encouraging an agricultural systems approach and policies addressing climate change, among others.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is the approval authority for this official plan amendment. The decision of the Minister must be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020. The decision of the Minister on a Section 26 official plan amendment is final and is not subject to appeal.