The City of Orillia formally launched an Official Plan review during a special meeting of council Monday.
Though it has been subject to updates and amendments to keep in line with provincial legislation over the years, the city’s current Official Plan has been in effect since 2011 and is two years overdue for revision.
As the city’s primary land use planning and policy document, the Official Plan sets the agenda for addressing growth, development, the city’s vision for the future, among other things.
At Monday’s meeting, members of the public were given the opportunity to share their thoughts, and housing was top of mind for many who showed up at the meeting to provide input.
“I've been a resident of Ward 1 for 17 years, and for most of that time I've been an advocate for the creation of sufficient affordable, accessible dwellings to meet the needs of our citizens with no or low incomes,” said Joyce Ward.
“This has been the No. 1 social problem expressed by Orillians for years. Now, as we know, shortages have reached (a critical point)," Ward said.
“I recommend that affordable housing in all residential areas be a developmental priority over the plan’s duration.”
A woman named Nancy also raised the issue of housing, noting she had to escape domestic violence in the past.
“I left, about five years ago, domestic violence – I had brain surgery from my ex-spouse of 25 years,” she said. “I ended up moving to Jubilee House after I got out of the hospital, and they equipped me with all the steps and everything to get into affordable housing because of domestic violence.
“I was just wondering what the plan is for housing because there's so much need,” she said. “I've seen so many women, and it just breaks my heart, when I was in the shelters – they come from really good backgrounds. They have really good jobs. However, because of domestic violence and things like that, they're stuck.”
Officials from WSP, one of the consultants spearheading the review, noted there are “a lot of studies being undertaken” with regard to affordable housing and community services within the city, and the official plan will provide “flexibility” for the city to partner with other levels of government or service providers to tackle these concerns.
Another resident, Michelle Walker, spoke to her past experiences with addiction, following morphine and opioid use for medical purposes after a heart attack.
“I became an addict ... because of the use of morphine and opioids – lost my marriage, lost my husband, lost everything. During that time of losing everything I became homeless,” she said. “Trying to find someplace in the city of Orillia was impossible to help me.”
Walker said she had to leave the city to find the treatment she needed.
“It's creeping up everywhere, and it's not because you live a bad life. I came from a good life,” she said. “But I reached out my hand and tried to find help in the city, and I couldn't – I had to leave. If you want to do something good with the land, build facilities to help people.”
In May, WSP, along with SHS Consulting, were retained to draft the city’s new Official Plan, which will guide the city’s growth for the next 25 years.
On Monday, WSP officials broke down the review process and timeline.
“An Official Plan is a very long-term, high level policy document. It helps guide municipalities on where and how they are to grow, how they are to accommodate growth in various forms,” said WSP’s Greg Bender. “It also serves as an opportunity to sort of take a snapshot of what's important in the city and where the city wants to go.”
Beyond the Official Plan itself, the city’s zoning bylaws, and documents like stormwater or transportation master plans, among others, help to implement the Official Plan’s policy direction.
The new plan will be drafted through a four-stage, multi-year process that WSP estimates will take until the latter half of 2025 to complete.
There will be opportunities for public input throughout the process, and one of the goals of the new plan is to establish “made in Orillia” planning policies in response to public input.
The official plan also oversees housing, natural heritage, parks, intensification strategies, city infrastructure, and more.
As part of the review process, WSP is carrying out a natural heritage system evaluation for the city, as well as updated floodplain mapping.
“When you see the word natural heritage system, it typically refers to important natural features or natural areas that are linked by corridors, and together they create a system,” said WSP’s Matt Rodrigues. “We are going to be undertaking work to study that in the context of Orillia and provide detailed mapping of that natural heritage system.”
Floodplain mapping will determine areas in the city that may be subject to flooding hazards, Rodrigues said.
Although the city’s municipal comprehensive review is underway, and a potential boundary expansion is looming to accommodate future growth, the Official Plan review is currently being carried out with only the city’s present boundaries in mind.
An in-person visioning workshop will be held to gather community ideas and input on Nov. 21.
