Planning for the Future | City of Orillia

The City of Orillia is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of its land use and planning policies to accommodate future growth over the next 25 years.

Official Plan review

Updating the City’s guiding document for land use planning and development to align with Provincial policies and address future needs.

Boundary expansion

Determining the best lands for future growth outside the current municipal boundaries.

Release of Second Draft of Our Official Plan

On March 26, 2026 the Second Draft of Our Orillia Official Plan was released for review and comment.

View the Draft Official Plan

Review the draft mapping:

If you submitted written comments on the First Draft of Our Orillia Official Plan, view the Comment Response Tracker to see how your comments have been addressed in the 2^nd Draft of the Our Orillia Official Plan.

Written comments are due by Thursday, June 4, 2026 and may be submitted to by emailing Jill Lewis, Senior Planner.

Boundary expansion

After several years of technical studies, public engagement, and consultation with neighbouring municipalities, the City of Orillia has confirmed the preferred locations for its next municipal boundary expansion.

This Council endorsed decision will guide the expansion of approximately 196.1 developable hectares of land from the Townships of Severn and Oro-Medonte to accommodate projected growth over the next 20 to 30 years.

Annexation

The City will begin the annexation process, which is regulated by the Ontario Municipal Act. This involves:

Negotiating agreements with affected municipalities.
Holding joint public meetings.
Securing majority support from the County of Simcoe, Orillia City Council, and Township Councils.

If local agreement cannot be reached, the Province can legislate the annexation.

Annexation discussions will address key issues such as taxes, compensation for affected municipalities, and service impacts.

Past actions

Since 2021, the City has been completing a Technical Evaluation to comprehensively study and identify the most suitable locations for growth from a planning perspective, before proposing a final recommendation. This planning process identifies the best lands for a potential future boundary expansion based on criteria outlined in the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024, including:

Adequate servicing capacity.
Avoiding and minimizing impacts on prime agricultural areas.

The City is also focused on protection of natural heritage features and environmentally significant lands are not considered for development.

Stages

· December 2021 - Kick-off Virtual Public Open House Presentation of Technical Evaluation for Settlement Area Boundary Expansion - December 1, 2021

April 2022 - Council directed an update to the Land Needs Assessment to explore higher intensification and density targets for residential development.

April 2023 - Updated Land Needs Assessment (Hemson Consulting Ltd.). Evaluates how different minimum density targets impact the size of the boundary expansion required.

Spring 2022 to Spring 2023 - Technical evaluations identified suitable lands for potential boundary expansion and developed a range of density target options.

April 2023 - Technical Land Evaluation (WSP Canada Inc.). Identifies the most suitable areas for a future boundary expansion to meet growth needs over the next 30 years.

June 2023 - A Public Open House gathered feedback on density targets and boundary expansion needs.

February 2025 - City Council directed that 195 hectares of developable land be brought into Orillia’s municipal boundary to accommodate growth to 2051 and beyond, informed by the findings of the City’s 2023 Land Needs Assessment. Council also established a minimum average density target of 47 units per net hectare for the City's Strategic Growth Areas to minimize the amount of land that would be required for a future settlement area boundary expansion.

· November 2025 - The City presented the recommended Settlement Area Boundary Expansion concept and supporting planning rationale, which determined based on input from received.

· January 2026 - A Public Open House presentation gathered feedback on recommended lands for future settlement area boundary expansion and draft Planning Justification Report.