Official Plan Review

COMPLETION OF PHASE 1: CONFORMITY REVIEW - URBAN

PROJECT UPDATE (Jan. 10, 2023): The Urban Hamilton Official Plan (UHOP) and Rural Hamilton Official Plan (RHOP) have been updated to reflect the Amendments contained in OPA 167 (Urban) and OPA 34 (Rural) as well as the modifications provided by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to the respective Official Plan Amendments. 

PROJECT UPDATE (Nov. 4, 2022): The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) issued decisions to the City of Hamilton on November 4, 2022 in response to the Council-adopted Official Plan Amendments (OPA) to the Urban Hamilton Official Plan (OPA 167) and Rural Hamilton Official Plan (OPA 34) which represented Phase 1 of the City’s Official Plan Review and the GRIDS 2 / Municipal Comprehensive Review processes.

The decision issued by MMAH includes these notable changes to the Council-adopted OPAs:  

• Expansion of the urban boundary by 2,200 gross hectares
• Development in the new expansion areas cannot proceed until Secondary Planning work is completed
• Removal of City-wide intensification and density targets (new targets to be added through a future OPA)
• Amendment to the height and density permissions in the City’s Community Nodes, including the Ancaster Community Node, to allow up to 6 storeys as-of-right, and up to 8 storeys subject to certain design policies, without amendment to the Plan
• Removal of the proposed 30 storey City-wide height limit
• Further expansions to the Urban Area of 40 hectares or less without needing a MCR

The complete MMAH approved Official Plan Amendments can be viewed through the Environmental Registry of Ontario webpage: 

https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-5732

Planning Staff are reviewing the details of the Province’s modifications and will be reporting to Council on November 29, 2022 to provide details about implementation.

View the Communication Update to the Mayor and members of City Council regarding the MMAH decision for OPA 167 and OPA 34

Municipalities review their Official Plans on a regular basis to ensure they remain up-to-date, reflect current provincial policy, and represent the long term vision of the municipality.

The City of Hamilton's Rural Hamilton Official Plan and Urban Hamilton Official Plan were approved by the Ontario Municipal Board and came into effect on March 7, 2012 and August 16, 2013, respectively.

The Planning Act, the Places to Grow Act, and the Greenbelt Act all contain municipal requirements to undertake Official Plan reviews and conformity exercises to ensure the City’s official plans are reflective of community goals and objectives, and that they implement the provincial policies contained in the Provincial Policy Statement, the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and the Greenbelt Plan.

 

Changes to the Official Plans that implement provincial policies are referred to as a Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) or the “Conformity Review”. Changes that are reflective of community goals and objectives are referred to as the “Official Plan Review - Local Context”.

The Official Plan Review is not intended to be a rewrite of the City’s Official Plans, but rather a targeted update to only those sections and policies that require changes to address provincial policies and significant locally-identified issues. The organization and structure of the Official Plans will remain the same.

The OP Review has been broken down into 4 project phases, each resulting in separate Official Plan Amendments. Review of the City’s Official Plan policies will occur at the same time as the GRIDS 2 project completes the necessary steps to determine how and where the City will accommodate additional growth.