Official Plan Project
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Shaping the Future of Essex
The Town of Essex is currently preparing a new Official Plan! Essex is growing and changing, and the new Official Plan will guide the Town’s growth and land use planning for the next 25 years. Essex contains highly valuable farmland and a strong agricultural economy, as well as four key urban areas (Essex, Harrow, McGregor, and Colchester), which are all experiencing development pressures. The orderly development of these communities is key to the successful growth of the Town over the next 25 years.
There are no upcoming events. Future events will be posted here.
| What is an Official Plan? | |||||||||
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The Official Plan guides growth and development in the Town of Essex by setting policies for land use, buildings, and infrastructure needs. Its main aim is to ensure that future expansion through 2051 is sustainable, preserves prime agricultural land, and is adequately supported by essential services like water, wastewater, parks, schools, and recreation facilities. |
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| What is a Secondary Plan? | |||||||||
| A Secondary Plan sets out a cohesive vision and set of planning directions for the future growth and development of a specific area or areas within the Municipality. For a variety of reasons, more detailed guidelines and strategies may be appropriate for specific areas. For example, Colchester is the only settlement area with public access to the Lake Erie shoreline –this, along with Colchester’s location in the heart of the Town’s recreational and agri-tourism area, necessitates a special approach to planning for its future. | |||||||||
| Why is the Town of Essex developing a new Official Plan and Secondary Plan? | |||||||||
| The current Official Plan came into effect in 2009 and was last updated in 2017. The Planning Act requires Official Plans to be updated every five years. The Official Plan must also be consistent with Provincial policies, and conform to the County of Essex’s Official Plan. It is now time to update the Official Plan to meet the current (and future) needs of Essex residents. Developing a new Official Plan is a chance for the Essex community to provide input into creating new and innovative policies that will affect how Essex will develop into the future. | |||||||||
| Areas of Focus | |||||||||
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The Town of Essex Official Plan will be focused on several key areas:
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Frequently Asked Questions
| How is the Town addressing concerns regarding housing affordability? |
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The Town does not have many tools available through the Provincially guided land use planning process to directly increase the supply of affordable housing. One key thing the Town can do through the new Official Plan is allow for a wider range of housing sizes and types. This diversity of housing supply would mean more options for people to enter the housing market. |
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What types of housing are being considered to support aging in place and first-time buyers? |
| Single-detached houses (by far the most common housing type in the Town) are out of reach for most first-time buyers and may be too large and/or expensive to maintain for seniors who wish to stay in their community. Smaller housing sizes (especially townhouses and apartments, including as part of mixed-use development) may be more attainable for these groups. |
| What is the Colchester Secondary Plan and how does it relate to the big development proposals in Colchester? |
| The Colchester Secondary Plan (also known as the Colchester Hamlet Guideline Plan) is a set of policies in the Town’s existing, in-effect Official Plan which are intended to guide the gradual development of Colchester into a true mixed-use settlement area anchored on the Lake Erie shoreline, and connected to the Town’s agricultural and recreational industries. The proposed updates to the Colchester Secondary Plan are intended to clarify and streamline existing policies and respond to new development interest in vacant lands in the Colchester settlement area. While related, the Town-led Secondary Plan is different from the privately led development applications. |
| Why are lands outside Colchester (such as the Colchester Bay proposal) being developed despite being prime farmland? |
| Any lands that have active development applications for them were already designated in the Town’s Official Plan for development. This designation was a past decision (or decisions) by the County of Essex alongside the Town, to make sure future growth could be properly met by housing and infrastructure. The County’s new Official Plan does not require the Town to add any more land to its settlement areas for residential growth, although some additional land will be needed for industrial uses to support job growth. |
| How will the new Official Plan protect natural heritage, riverways, and wildlife? |
| The new Official Plan will implement work done by the County and Essex Region Conservation Authority to map natural heritage features across the Town (such as wetlands and woodlands) and restrict development on or near these features to minimize the loss of critical habitats and ecological functions. |
| How is the Town addressing flooding and stormwater management in new developments? |
| The Town’s Official Plan requires new development to demonstrate that stormwater will be managed efficiently and avoids creating flooding issues. The new Official Plan will go further by encouraging the use of “green” infrastructure and low-impact development (LID) that allows for natural infiltration of stormwater, rather than diverting and storing stormwater. |
| Will local schools be able to accommodate the projected population growth? |
| Local school boards serving the Town are consulted on land use planning matters at both the Town and County level, and the boards do their own long-range planning to make sure that future growth will be supported by sufficient school space. |
Jump to the Draft of the New Official Plan and Colchester Secondary Plan
| Phase 1 |
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Consultations with the Public, Council, and Community and Development stakeholders were held and the following items were completed:
Hundreds of comments were received as a result of Public Consultation and were summarized in a Phase 1 Consultation Summary. |
| Phase 2 |
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The following works will be completed as part of Phase 2:
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Timeline of Public Consultation Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 22, 2025 |
A Public Information Centre (PIC) to present a summary of comments received on the first draft of the New Official Plan and Colchester Secondary Plan and discuss next steps. |
| August 28 and September 4 and 11, 2024 |
Information on the Draft Official Plan and Colchester Secondary Plan presented at three (3) initial public Open Houses in Colchester, Essex Centre, and Harrow. |
| September 18, 2023 |
A presentation on the results of the Colchester Parking Study completed as part of the development of the Colchester Secondary Plan. |
| February 6, 2023 |
A Special Meeting of Council to present an update on the new Official Plan (project overview, policy context, gaps and opportunities, and next steps) and a Background Review and Policy Gaps Report. |
| June 6, 2022 |
A Statutory Public Meeting to discuss potential revisions to the Official Plan. |
Review the draft of the New Official Plan
Residents, business owners, and landowners are encouraged to review the draft of the new Official Plan and Colchester Hamlet Secondary Plan and Schedule Package.
View the Draft Official Plan View the Draft Colchester Secondary Plan View the Schedule Package
Share your Feedback
Residents are encouraged to review and provide input on the Official Plan Project by completing the online feedback form. Feedback will continue to be collected throughout the Project phases.
Resources
- Provincial Planning Statement, 2024
- County of Essex Official Plan, 2014 (in effect)
- County of Essex Official Plan, 2024 (provisionally adopted)
- County of Essex Official Plan 2024 Schedules (provisionally adopted)
- County of Essex Growth Analysis Report
- Town of Essex Official Plan and Colchester Secondary Plan (2009)
Get Involved!
We want to hear from you! The feedback you provide will help us identify your needs and priorities as the Town continues to engage with the community in a way that is open, transparent, accessible and inclusive.
There are many ways for you to get involved in the Official Plan review and share your feedback that will help inform the new Official Plan. Opportunities to provide your input at Open Houses and Public meetings will be posted on this website under 'Key Dates and Timelines' as they arise.
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