Municipal Comprehensive Review

As part of the City’s MCR planning process, there are various technical studies that have been prepared to inform the new Official Plan:

1.WSP Canada Inc. (WSP) is completing the Technical Land Evaluation to determine the best location for a future boundary expansion from a planning perspective to accommodate the City’s growth needs for the next 30 years.

The following technical reports are available for review:

• Technical Evaluation for Settlement Area Boundary Expansion Summary Report
• Agricultural Impact Assessment Report
• Community Connectivity Report
• Fire and Emergency Services Assessment Report
• Municipal Servicing Report
• Natural Heritage Report
• Water Resources Report

Based on the findings of the technical reports, WSP has issued a map of the proposed Settlement Area Boundary Expansion:

• Proposed Expansion Map

2.Hemson Consulting Ltd. (Hemson) has completed an update to the Land Needs Assessment and has evaluated the impact on the size of a future boundary expansion based on a range of various intensification and greenfield density targets:

• Revised Land Needs Assessment to incorporate a range of intensification and density targets.

Anyone is welcome to submit written comments and those can be directed to planning@orillia.ca with the subject line “Boundary Expansion”. Written comments must be received by Monday, July 17, 2023.

What are Settlement Area Boundary Expansions?

A Settlement Area Boundary is the boundary that encompasses the limits of an urban area.  These areas are where growth is directed to occur and are the built-up areas where development is concentrated.  As a single-tier municipality, the settlement area boundary for the City aligns with the boundary for the City limits.

Where it is expected that more urban land is needed to accommodate the growth forecasts for a particular municipality, a municipality will have to undertake a Settlement Area Boundary Expansion.  Generally, Settlement Area Boundary Expansions may only occur through a MCR and the Growth Plan indicates a specific set of supporting technical studies that must accompany the final growth option and a request for a Settlement Area Boundary Expansion.  Since the City's LNA has determined that the existing municipal boundaries do not have enough land to accommodate the City's growth forecast to 2051, a Settlement Area Boundary Expansion, by way of an annexation, is needed to plan for the City's anticipated growth.

A Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) is a long-range land use planning process.  It is the technical process which the City will use to inform and update a new Official Plan and apply the policies of the province's Growth Plan.  The MCR is made up of a number of required technical studies.  Through the MCR, the City will plan for where and how to accommodate the population and employment growth that is forecasted for the City of Orillia up to the year 2051.

The Province introduced the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe in 2006, which has since been amended several times with the most recent amendment occurring on August 28, 2020.  The Growth Plan is a regional growth management policy for Southern Ontario.  It provides the Province's vision for building complete communities that makes optimal use of infrastructure.  The City of Orillia is identified as a Primary Settlement Area in the Growth Plan, which is to be the focus of growth and development.  The City of Orillia and some of our neighbours (County of Simcoe and City of Barrie) are located in the outer ring of the GGH.

The Growth Plan sets growth targets and puts policies in place for all municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) and we are required to bring our City Official Plan into conformity with the Growth Plan by July 1, 2022.  There is a detailed process and methodology that municipalities within the GGH must follow to complete the MCR and it culminates in an updated City Official Plan.

If you would like to learn more about the Province's A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe:

• You can view the Growth Plan document that was most recently consolidated in 2020.
• You can find more information about growth planning in Ontario at this link. 

The current Growth Plan establishes minimum population and employment growth forecasts to the year 2051.  These forecasts help to determine if the City of Orillia has sufficient land to accommodate the type of growth that is expected to occur and if the current boundary for our settlement area will allow the City to grow.  The forecasts outlined in the Growth Plan are the minimum numbers distributed to each municipality.  However, it is possible that higher forecasts will be established through the required needs assessment in the MCR process.

The City of Orillia, at a minimum, will need to plan to accommodate 49,000 people and 26,000 jobs by the year 2051. 

The Growth Plan policies are implemented through the City's Official Plan.  The City's Official Plan is a high-level policy document that contains the City's vision for future growth; it guides the short and long-term physical development of all lands within the City.  It directs orderly growth and compatibility among the many different uses of land within the municipality.  It ensures growth is coordinated and meets the needs of the City.  It also guides decisions we make about things like building vibrant and complete communities, environmental responsibility, protecting our resources, transportation and trails, infrastructure and design guidelines.  We can use growth projections in our Official Plan to determine where it will go, how it should look, and how long it will take.  You can use this link to view the current City of Orillia Official Plan.

The results of the MCR will be implemented through a new City Official Plan so that our Plan is in conformity will all provincial planning policies.  The new Official Plan will first be adopted by City Council and then approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

A Land Needs Assessment is a foundational study in the MCR process.  A Land Needs Assessment (LNA) is undertaken to determine how, or if, a municipality can accommodate it's forecasted employment and population growth to the year 2051.

In 2018, the City of Orillia retained Hemson Consulting Ltd. to prepare the City's LNA, an Employment Strategy and an Intensification Strategy, which are foundational components to the MCR.  As a result of provincial updates and an amendment to the Growth Plan, which affected the planning horizon and growth forecasts, work was temporarily suspended on the MCR and resumed in 2020.  In December 2020, the final LNA was completed by Hemson Consulting Ltd.

The LNA is required to be prepared in accordance with the Provincial Land Needs Assessment methodology which was amended by the Province on August 28, 2020.  It requires a more "market-based" approach to evaluating a municipality's land needs.  The LNA addresses the land need for both Community Area and Employment Area, meaning that the assessment concludes how much land is available for housing and how much land is available for jobs.  The LNA revealed a deficiency in land within the City's current municipal boundary and concluded that the City's current land supply for housing will be exhausted by the early 2030s.

Using historic (low) growth rates, Hemson Consulting Ltd. concluded that the City will require a total of 176.5 hectares (436.1 acres) of additional land.  This would be comprised of 56.5 hectares (139.6 acres) for Employment Area and 120 hectares (296.5 acres) for Community Area.

Any expansion of the City's current municipal boundary will require an annexation from abutting municipalities.  Due to the complexity and lengthy process of an annexation, Hemson Consulting Ltd. examined a "high growth" scenario, planning for a population of approximately 59,000 and employment of 30,500 jobs, a total of 380.6 hectares (940.5 acres) is anticipated to be required.  This would be comprised of 257 hectares (635.1 acres) for Community Area and 123.6 hectares (305.4 acres) for Employment Area.

The following link can be used to access the final Land Needs Assessment report dated December 22, 2020, prepared by Hemson Consulting Ltd. as well as the coinciding City of Orillia staff report, dated March 22, 2021.

March 22, 2021 Agenda (see page 101)

At its meeting on April 25, 2022, Council directed that Hemson Consulting Ltd. update the Land Needs Assessment to reflect the changes to the City that have occurred over the last two years and to determine the City’s additional land needs if higher intensification rates and greenfield densities were to be pursued in the next Official Plan. Once the City’s Land Needs Assessment has been updated, it will be posted on this webpage. 

When will Council decide about expanding the boundary of Orillia?

It is anticipated that Council will be presented with the final growth options and draft Settlement Area Boundary Expansion lands for consideration within 2024.

The City of Orillia is currently completing Phase 2 of the Technical Land Evaluation to identify the best lands from a planning perspective for a potential future boundary expansion. Phase 2 includes a presentation of all the detailed technical results of finding the best lands that will have the least impact on water resources, infrastructure capacity, natural heritage features, impact on agricultural land, and beyond, and consultation with stakeholders. The input received from the public will be taken into consideration to inform a report that is anticipated to be presented for Council’s consideration by the first quarter of 2024.

Phase 3 will use the findings from the technical analysis to identify a final growth option and draft Settlement Area Boundary Expansion lands for consideration by Council. Supporting reports and justification will be prepared during Phase 3, which will be used to inform the City's Official Plan update and a recommended boundary expansion for consideration and approval by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 

When will we know what lands Orillia needs? 

As part of the public consultation underway currently, a preliminary map is being presented that identifies the maximum amount of land size Orillia will need to grow over the next 30 years, which is identified as 356.1 ha of land. In the future, Council will need to make a decision on how much additional land they will need to accommodate Orillia’s growth over the next 30 years.

Based on the process so far, the amount of lands required will not be more than 365.1 ha, but the exact amount won’t be known until Phase 3 of the Technical Land Evaluation process is completed. It is anticipated that Council will be presented with the final growth options and draft Settlement Area Boundary Expansion lands for its consideration within 2024.

What is the Refined Focus Study Area (FSA)?

The initial study area included a broad land area adjacent to Orillia within the Townships of Severn, Oro-Medonte, and Ramara.

Following information gathered through public and stakeholder consultation held in Spring 2022 (part of Phase 1), WSP further reduced the focus area to a refined study area in order to complete their detailed Technical Land Evaluation:

Refined Focus Study Area Map

In refining the FSA, the Township of Ramara and the lands south of the City of Orillia in the Township of Oro-Medonte along Lake Simcoe were removed from the FSA, recognizing the physical and environmental constraints of accommodating future urban growth in these locations.

Specifically, within the Township of Ramara, community connectivity across the narrows would present challenges related to infrastructure, servicing, and transportation. Further, any lands included as part of the SABE in Ramara would impact future development in the Township’s principal community area in the Village of Atherley-Uptergrove.

The Refined FSA consists of two areas, one located within the Township of Severn to the north and the other within the Township of Oro-Medonte to the west. For reference purposes, the lands located in Severn are described in the technical reports as the North FSA, and the lands located within Oro-Medonte are described as the West FSA. These two areas are being studied jointly as a single FSA to determine the most appropriate location(s) for growth. 

To what extent have you undertaken consultation with the Indigenous Communities for this proposed boundary expansion?

As part of our consultation process on the proposed boundary expansion, the City of Orillia has sent communication to the William Treaties First Nations (namely, Chippewas of Rama First Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, Alderville First Nation, Chippewas of Beausoleil First Nation, Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, Hiawatha First Nation, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation), the Huron-Wendat Nation and Metis Nation of Ontario.

From the responses received after sending out two letters from the Mayor of the City of Orillia (on September 27, 2021 and November 16, 2021), the City has been focussing on consultation meetings with the Chief and Council of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation as they are our closest neighbour.  We have met with Rama First Nation on January 20, 2022 and May 8, 2023 to provide them with information about the City’s proposed boundary expansion.

Early and frequent consultation with Indigenous Communities is expected when planning for future growth, as communicated to the City by the Province of Ontario. Further, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation has a constitutional right to consultation within their traditional and treaty territories. Since the proposed expansion lands are on lands located within the Williams Treaties, it is imperative that the City of Orillia consult extensively with Indigenous Communities, specifically the Williams Treaties First Nations and our neighbors, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, on this very sensitive planning matter. The City of Orillia values all of the input received from everyone including the Indigenous Communities with traditional ties to the Orillia area.  

What is the difference between community area and employment area? What are the needs of each?

“Community area” is land where housing, recreation, schools, institutional uses (i.e. hospitals), and commercial uses will be located.

“Employment area” is land focused exclusively on employment activity. Generally, business parks and industrial areas. 

Over the next 30 years, the City will need to accommodate 7,330 new housing units and 1,560 new jobs. We know that 755 of those new jobs can be accommodated on available employment lands located within the City’s current municipal boundary. However, the other 805 new jobs would need to be accommodated on boundary expansion lands, requiring 49.2ha of additional land.

The 30-year land need for housing ranges from needing an additional 81.9 ha to not requiring any new land for housing, depending on how much intensification/densification Council wishes to direct to the lands within the City’s existing municipal boundary.

On the community area lands, the City requires 35.3 ha of additional land for recreation purposes and 28.6 ha of additional land for schools. These land needs cannot be accommodated within the current municipal boundaries and would need to be located on expansion lands. 

In the ranges of intensification, what do the different built forms look like? 

At a 50% intensification rate, a range of housing can be built, which is the type of development we currently see happening in Orillia: single-family homes, semi-detached homes, townhouses and apartments.

At a 55% intensification rate, housing would be limited to townhouses and apartments only.

At a 60% intensification rate, housing would be limited to low, medium and high-rise apartments only.

At 65% and 69% intensification rates, housing would be limited to only medium- and high-rise apartments.

At a 65% intensification rate, the following is an example of the built form:

At a 69% intensification rate, the following is example of built form:

Where would new structures be built within the existing boundary?

To achieve the intensification rate that Council establishes, new housing would be focused in the City’s downtown and intensification areas. The City will continue to have stable neighbourhoods, which limit the degree of change and restrict the heights of new housing occurring in the neighbourhood. With the writing of the new Official Plan, the City will need to identify new intensification areas, which will be the focus of new growth and development.  

How are lands protected in this process? 

The City will not allow development to occur on land that has natural heritage features and areas that are evaluated to be ecologically significant. The proposed lands required for potential future growth also identify areas of land that cannot be developed on because of the ecological significance.

If a boundary expansion takes place, where will Orillia expand to?

At a minimum, Orillia requires an additional 113 ha of expansion land to accommodate its future employment, recreation and school growth needs. Options being reviewed currently are potential expansions into the Township of Oro-Medonte and/or the Township of Severn.

The City of Orillia is not looking at future expansion lands within the Township of Ramara because there are small, developed parcels of land on the east side of Atherley Narrows Bridge, which does not help the City achieve its objective of incorporating large tracts of vacant, undeveloped land within the City’s settlement area boundary to accommodate future growth. Furthermore, the extension of municipal services across the Atherley Narrows Bridge is impractical and not recommended.  

How will the expansion/intensification range be determined?

Council will need to make a decision on how much intensification/densification it wants to see occur in Orillia over the next 30 years, which will impact the size of a potential future boundary expansion. At a minimum, Orillia requires an additional 113 ha of expansion land to accommodate its future employment, recreation and school growth needs. Options being reviewed currently are potential expansions into the Township of Oro-Medonte and/or the Township of Severn.

The City of Orillia is not looking at future expansion lands within the Township of Ramara because there are small, developed parcels of land on the east side of Atherley Narrows Bridge which does not help the City achieve its objective of incorporating large tracts of vacant, undeveloped land within the City’s settlement area boundary to accommodate future growth. Furthermore, the extension of municipal services across the Atherley Narrows Bridge is impractical and not recommended.

Council will not be asked to make a decision on the intensification/densification rate until after the Province adopts the new Provincial Policy Statement, which is anticipated to occur in the fall of 2023. 

Why can’t this all be achieved through intensification only? 

New housing can be achieved solely through intensification by allowing only medium and high-rise apartments to be built. However, the provision of employment, recreation and schools cannot be provided through intensification alone as they require more undeveloped land than is currently available.  

What is included in the annexation process?

The process taking place with identifying lands for a future potential boundary expansion is a planning process to identify how much lands the City needs to accommodate population and employment growth over the next 30 years and to identify the best lands from a planning perspective where this future growth should be accommodated. Once the best lands for a potential future boundary expansion have been determined by Council, the City will embark on the annexation process that is regulated by the Municipal Act. There are legislative requirements that must be met when preparing an annexation proposal for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) to consider approving.

Agreements must be negotiated with the affected municipalities; joint public meetings must be held with the affected municipalities; and majority support must be obtained from County of Simcoe Council, Orillia City Council, and Township Council. Once that work has been done, a proposal is submitted to MMAH for review and approval. Failing reaching agreement with the affected municipalities, then the Province can legislate a mandatory annexation.

What are the next steps?

The City will take all the feedback received during the June 20 Open House, and written comments provided by July 17, as well as the findings from the various aspects of the project to inform a report to Council requesting its endorsement of an intensification/densification rate and size of a potential future boundary expansion. The timing of this report is currently unknown, as this will not take place until after the new Provincial Policy Statement has been adopted by the Province, which is anticipated to occur in fall 2023.

How have residents of the affected lands been informed of this potential expansion? 

At this point, the process is still in the preliminary planning stages. Information has been communicated to surrounding Townships, online and through public open houses. Those interested in learning more about the City’s planning process seeking additional lands for population and employment growth over the next 30 years are invited to attend the virtual public open house on June 20. Interested residents can also visit orillia.ca/MCR and sign up to receive email updates. As the project advances, more consultation will be held.

If I am a property owner identified in the suggested boundary area expansion, what are my options and what happens next?

You can participate in the planning process by attending the June 20 Virtual Public Open House and/or submit written comments to planning@orillia.ca  with “Boundary Expansion” in the subject line by Monday, July 17, 2023.

This is currently a planning process to identify the best lands for a future boundary expansion; it is not an annexation process. However, once Council determines the size and location of the potential future boundary expansion lands, the City would embark on the annexation process, which is regulated by the Municipal Act and can take many years of negotiations before municipal boundaries actually change.  

If my lands become part of the City of Orillia will my taxes go up? Will I be required to connect to Orillia’s municipal sewer and water system? 

This question is premature and cannot be answered at this time, because the City is currently undertaking a planning process to identify the best lands for a future boundary expansion to accommodate our population and employment growth over the next 30 years. This is a planning process at this point; not an annexation process.

If the City embarks on an annexation process, negotiations would be held with the affected municipalities and implications to affected residents with respect to taxes and services would be addressed at that time.

What will the potential financial impacts be for Township residents resulting from the City of Orillia’s possible boundary expansion? Is it possible to determine timing associated with potential financial impacts? 

This is unknown at this time. The City is currently undertaking a planning process, not an annexation process, to identify the best lands from a planning perspective for a potential future boundary expansion.

Once Council makes a decision on the size and location of a potential future boundary expansion, the City would embark on an annexation process, which would include negotiations with the affected municipalities to determine the financial impacts of annexation on the affected municipalities.  

What is the Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) process and why is it necessary?

A Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) is a long-range land use planning process. As part of the Province of Ontario’s Growth Plan, all upper- and single-tier municipalities that are governed by the Growth Plan are required to bring their Official Plans into conformity with the policies and schedules of the Growth Plan. As a single-tier municipality in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH), the City of Orillia is provincially mandated to complete this process.

The Province’s Growth Plan identifies minimum intensification and density targets for urban areas and assigns population and employment forecasts to each municipality in the GGH. The Provincial Growth Plan identifies Orillia as a location to focus new growth within the Province as Orillia is a fully serviced municipality that can accommodate new growth in a compact built form and more efficiently utilize the City’s municipal services, which in turn minimizes the impacts of urban sprawl. As a result of Orillia being designated as a Primary Settlement Area, the City will, at a minimum, need to plan to accommodate 49,000 people and 26,000 jobs by the year 2051.

The MCR process will help Orillia decide how we will manage our expected growth and meet those targets.

What actions is Orillia undertaking as part of the MCR process?

In 2020, the City of Orillia completed a Land Needs Assessment to determine how, or if, Orillia could accommodate its forecasted employment and population growth to the year 2051. The 2020 Land Needs Assessment determined that the City does not have sufficient land for growth within its existing boundaries, based on an intensification target of approximately 50 per cent.

Following the 2020 Land Needs Assessment, Orillia began to explore options for meeting the provincially mandated growth targets through a potential settlement area boundary expansion to accommodate community and employment land needs to the year 2051.

In 2021, the City of Orillia began a three-phase Technical Land Evaluation, which is required to comprehensively consider suitable growth scenarios and will provide recommendations for potential boundary expansion options.

On April 25, 2022, Orillia Council directed staff to update the 2020 Land Needs Assessment to contemplate higher minimum intensification and designated greenfield density targets for residential development to be considered with the boundary expansion recommendations. 

What is included in the Technical Land Evaluation process?

The Technical Land Evaluation is a three-phase process. The City of Orillia engaged a consultant, WSP, to complete the three phases.

Phase One established the background information needed to inform the technical analysis and identified a study area including lands abutting the City’s boundaries as candidate areas for possible boundary expansion.

Phase Two involves preparing the Technical Land Evaluation reports to further assess the identified growth scenarios. The report will address the technical feasibility requirements outlined in the Growth Plan.

Phase Three will use the findings from the technical analysis to identify a final growth option based on a Planning Justification Report and draft Settlement Area Boundary Expansion lands for Council’s consideration.

What is included in the updated Land Needs Assessment/Intensification and Greenfield Density Review process?

As part of the Land Needs Assessment update, the City project team will work with its consultant, Hemson Consulting Ltd., to consider higher minimum intensification and greenfield density targets for residential development and their implications, including what minimum building heights would be required, what minimum built form would be required, what neighbourhoods would be affected, and how the additional land would be impacted.

City staff is currently working with Hemson to review a range of intensification and density targets for residential development, as well as evaluating the updated land needs for employment (i.e. manufacturing, offices, etc.), recreation (i.e. baseball diamonds, etc.), education (i.e. future school sites), and health (i.e. hospital). These land needs will factor into the updated Land Needs Assessment, which will be completed by Hemson once Council makes a decision on which intensification and density target for residential development that they wish to pursue.  

I am an Orillia resident – how does this affect me?

Council will need to make a decision on the amount of intensification/densification that it wants Orillia to incur over the next 30 years to accommodate 7,330 new housing units. Depending on the minimum intensification/densification targets established by Council, the additional need for land beyond the City’s current municipal boundaries could range from 82ha down to 0ha depending on the density, scale and built form of new housing Council wants built in the Orillia.

At the very minimum, the City needs to expand its boundaries to accommodate:

• 805 new jobs on 49.2 ha of new employment land
• New recreation facilities on 35.3 ha of additional land
• New schools on 28.6 ha of additional land

To learn more about the process and to sign up for updates, please visit the Municipal Comprehensive Review webpage.

I am a resident of a surrounding township – how does this affect me?

At this time, no decisions are being made by Council with respect to the size and location of the future boundary expansion lands. At this time, we are gathering input from the public to garner their thoughts on the amount of intensification/densification the City should incur over the next 30 years and to provide comment on the best lands identified for a future boundary expansion.

After the Province adopts the new Provincial Policy Statement, then a report will be prepared for Council to endorse an intensification/densification target and the size of future boundary expansion.

As the City continues its planning process to identify the size and location of the best lands from a planning perspective for a boundary expansion, the City is sharing information with the surrounding townships within the focused study area (the Townships of Severn and Oro-Medonte). WSP, the City’s consultant, intends to significantly refine the lands being studied further during this phase of their work to identify the best lands from a planning perspective for a potential future boundary expansion. At the most the future boundary expansion will require 365.ha of additional land. However, the exact amount and location of land required for a potential boundary expansion will be a Council decision to be made at some point in the future.

What are the next steps of the MCR process?

The process of updating and revising the Land Needs Assessment to consider higher intensification and greenfield density targets for residential development will run parallel with the Technical Land Evaluation process. Due to the complexity of the process, it is anticipated that the updated Land Needs Assessment and its associated intensification recommendations and the recommendations for appropriate lands for a potential boundary expansion will be presented at a Public Open House in summer 2023 and brought to Council for consideration in fall 2023/winter 2024 (see the revised timeline).

What opportunities are there for public consultation?

Everyone is invited to provide their input on the Technical Land Evaluation reports and the proposed Boundary Expansion map either at the Virtual Open House being held on Tuesday, June 20^th from 6 – 8pm or by providing comments in writing to planning@orillia.ca with “Boundary Expansion” in the subject line by Monday, July 17^th, 2023.

Stay up to date on the MCR process, including public input opportunities, by signing up for the email mailing list at orillia.ca/MCR.

The City of Orillia is required to plan for sufficient land to accommodate a future population of 49,000 people and 26,000 jobs to the year 2051. This requirement comes from the Province of Ontario. All municipalities in Ontario are creatures of the Province.  The City of Orillia is required to bring its Official Plan into conformity with the Province's Growth Plan.

• On April 25, 2022, Orillia Council directed that the City explore the implications of considering pursuing a higher intensification and greenfield density targets in the next Official Plan with an eye towards reducing the amount of additional land required for a future boundary expansion.  Hemson Consulting Ltd. is completing an update to the Land Needs Assessment and is evaluating the impact on the size of a future boundary expansion based on investigating a range of various intensification and greenfield density targets.

The City is required by the Province to plan for enough land to accommodate 26,000 jobs by the year 2051. It was determined in the City’s December, 2020 Land Needs Assessment that the City has a shortfall of 56.5 hectares of Employment Area land needed to accommodate the provincially required number of jobs for the City of Orillia to the year 2051.  The updated Land Needs Assessment will provide a range of intensification and density targets for residential development.  Once Council selects preferred intensification and density targets, these inputs will inform the updated Land Needs Assessment to determine the final amount of land needed to accommodate the provincially-required Community and Employment land to accommodate growth to the year 2051.

What are my appeal rights associated with this planning process?

There are no formal appeal rights permitted under the Municipal Act on the Planning Act as part of the planning process associated with a settlement boundary expansion to bring the City of Orillia's Official Plan into conformity with the Provincial Growth Plan.

How is this Technical Land Evaluation process for studying a future boundary expansion different from annexation?

The Technical Land Evaluation process for studying a future boundary expansion is a planning process to evaluate and determine the best lands to be included in the City's future municipal boundary from a planning perspective. There are many criteria set out in the Provincial Growth Plan that must be taken into consideration when considering an expansion to a settlement boundary: the lands must be able to be adequately serviced; prime agricultural areas should be avoided and the impact on the agricultural system should be minimized; water quality and quantity should be protected; the lands must be in compliance with all provincial plans and policies; and the lands should be contiguous and connected to the City's existing boundary.

The City has retained the consulting services of WSP to conduct this planning analysis and by summer of 2023 they will present a Planning Justification Report to the City recommending the best lands (based on the planning criteria previously identified) to be incorporated into the City through a potential future boundary expansion.

If Council chooses to pursue a future boundary expansion, then the City will need to embark on a negotiation process with the affected townships and the County of Simcoe to discuss the annexation process, which is regulated by the Ontario Municipal Act. Through this process it is very important to come up with a local agreement between the City and the affected townships/County. This future annexation process would include negotiations about taxes, compensation for loss of assessment, impact on existing roads and services and other impacts to the affected townships. 

The Municipal Act requires that Public Meetings be held for all affected municipalities and that a majority of support be obtained from County Council, City of Orillia Council and township councils. If local agreement and majority support from the affected councils cannot be achieved, then the Province can legislate the annexation.

Why has the timeline for completing the MCR changed?

As a result of City resources required to implement the changes stemming from new provincial legislation (the More Homes for Everyone Act and the More Homes Built Faster Act), along with the City’s 2023 Budget Process and the upcoming Development Charges Study, the timeline for the Municipal Comprehensive Review has been extended to ensure that the City can allocate the appropriate resources required for this significant project.

Here you will find information about upcoming reports, meetings and public consultation opportunities related to the Municipal Comprehensive Review.

Public Open House Notice for June 20, 2023

December 16, 2022 - Council Information Package

April 27, 2022 - News Release - Orillia to explore higher intensification for residential development

Timeline of Next Steps in Orillia Municipal Comprehensive Review Process

Notice of Virtual Kick-Off Public Open House December 1, 2021

News Release re. Virtual Kick-Off Public Open House