Stage 3 involves the preparation of the Draft Official Plan for community consultation, building on the work completed in Stages 1 and 2, to present an innovative and contemporary Official Plan for Orillia.
The First Draft of Our Orillia Official Plan was released for review and comment on November 6, 2025.
Below is a summary of key changes to implement that you will find in the First Draft of Our Orillia Official Plan which help implement the Council-endorsed City Moves Report (Stage 1) and Policy Directions Report (Stage 2):
Chapter 1 – Introducing the Our Orillia Official Plan
This chapter sets the stage for how to read the Official Plan. It recognizes Orillia’s past and present and recognizes the traditional territories on which the city is located.
Chapter 2 – Vision and Guiding Principles
The Plan outlines a vision for Orillia in 2051, and long-term overarching themes of resilience, inclusion, reconciliation, and collaboration. The vision and overarching themes are anchored by guiding principles that promote sustainable growth, efficient development, and financial responsibility. Together, this framework provides a framework for policies that are found throughout the Plan.
Chapter 3 – Growth and Development
The Plan organizes the policies that you need to know to help understand how Orillia will grow, what types of development is allowed, and how it will contribute to the City’s housing affordability and building design goals.
Orillia’s plan for growth
A new “City Structure” has been developed to focus on where growth will occur in Orillia. The City Structure introduces new “Strategic Growth Areas” at major intersections and along roads that are or can be well served by transit, sets out Employment Areas that will be focus of new jobs, and protects a newly mapped Natural Heritage System made up of woodlands, wetlands, and more. The Plan helps realize the Council-endorsed 2025 Downtown Tomorrow Plan, support the evolution of existing shopping plazas over time, and the addition of compatible types of housing in neighbourhoods.
Housing supply and affordability
Refreshed housing policies allow for a wider range of housing types in both new and developed neighbourhoods. Affordable housing targets, condominium conversion, and rental housing policies will help protect and add new housing for residents at all life stages. The Plan includes new building types and height ranges to help the city accommodate more homes in its existing boundaries and minimize outward growth.
Land use designations
A new, simplified framework of land use designations has been introduced with a focus on the form of buildings in the community. These streamlined land use designations allow for small-scale shops and services in neighbourhoods, protect defined employment areas as required by the Province, and enable a range of uses and densities to be built in mixed-use areas. The Plan also contemplates 4-storey buildings along major roads in neighbourhoods, which could allow for new housing options, while taking advantage of locations well-served by roads and transit.
Urban design
Planning and development applications will use these urban design policies to shape the design of their buildings, sites, and the public realm. A renewed focus is placed on growing Orillia’s tree canopy and connections to the waterfront.
Chapter 4 – Transportation and Mobility
Orillia’s current Multi-Modal Transportation Master Plan (completed in 2019) sets clear actions and projects for Orillia’s trails, sidewalks, transit routes, and roads network. The Official Plan continues to support the Multi-Modal Transportation Plan and support the creation of complete streets.
Chapter 5 – Parks and Open Space
The Plan sets out requirements for new development to contribute to parks and open space in the city. Orillia is currently in the process of preparing a new Parks, Trails, Recreation, and Culture Master Plan which has been reflected in the Official Plan, including specifications for different types of park sizes and amenities.
Chapter 6 – Cultural Heritage
Cultural heritage policies in the Plan continue to embrace Orillia’s past and present and provide direction to those looking to develop in certain areas or on certain lots in the city. The Plan recognizes important collaboration with First Nations in managing cultural heritage resources and archaeological resources.
Chapter 7 – Economy
The Plan supports and aligns with current Orillia’s Economic Development Strategic Plan. It outlines ways in which the City will support innovation, retain and attract a diverse workforce and new investments. It recognizes the importance of tourism, manufacturing, major institutional uses (like Georgian College, Lakehead University, and OPP Headquarters), and arts and culture as part of Orillia’s economy. New policies support local food production including urban agriculture.
Chapter 8 – Environment and Climate Change
Natural heritage system
Orillia has comprehensively reviewed and updated its Natural Heritage System policies and mapping as part of the new Official Plan. Existing policies that help protect the Lake Simcoe watershed have been carried forward, and policies continue to protect city’s drinking water sources.
- The Natural Heritage System has specific rules to protect and connect areas such as wetlands and woodlands, including new requirements for buffers around them
- The maps that are part of the Plan use new mapping to identify specific type of natural features such as woodlands, wetlands, and fish habitat
- New direction supports working with First Nations and the community on stewardship and management initiatives
- Updated policies and mapping provide rules for development near rivers and within floodplains to promote safety and minimize property damage
Climate change
Orillia’s climate is expected to experience harsher conditions and more often leading to more extreme temperatures and weather and unpredictable precipitation. A new section sets out policies to act on climate change and support Orillia’s Climate Change Action Plan and its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, including emissions reductions goals. Policies focus on four key areas:
- Community Resilience, including public health, emergency preparedness, and sustainable transportation such as zero-emission vehicle charging and active transportation
- Built Form Resilience, including the design of buildings which reduce energy demand and emissions
- Economic Resilience, including cultivating a diverse economy and considering the impacts of climate change in decision making
- Energy and Infrastructure, including green infrastructure, energy resiliency, and supporting community energy
Chapter 9 – Infrastructure and Community Services
To support and enable long-term growth and sustainability in Orillia, the Plan sets out policies for infrastructure including water and sewer pipes, stormwater management, waste management, and other utilities. The Plan also continues to recognize the importance of community services such as recreation facilities and community centres as part of complete and liveable neighbourhoods.
Chapter 10 – Implementation
When looking to develop in Orillia, the Plan sets out policies to guide the planning applications and other studies like Environmental Impact Studies. Importantly, the Plan includes policies to foster engagement with the community and First Nations and help measure progress towards the targets, vision, and guiding principles.
