Bruce County council to vote on draft official plan started in 2018

WALKERTON – Bruce County’s new draft Official Plan (OP), eight years in the making, comes before council on July 16.

WALKERTON – Bruce County’s new draft Official Plan (OP), eight years in the making, comes before council on July 16. It will be up to council to decide whether to adopt the OP and forward it to the province for approval. The province has final say on the plan.

The OP has been in the works since 2018. In the past eight years, there has been extensive engagement with the public, prescribed agencies, municipalities and First Nations including Saugeen Ojibway Nation. Development of the plan was conducted according to statutory requirements of the Planning Act which included a special meeting (Section 26 of the Planning Act) on Oct. 21, 2021; the first round of open houses (Oct. 2-4, 2024); the second round of open houses on the revised draft (May 25-27, 2026) and the public meeting held during the most recent meeting of county council, on June 18, 2026.

Why it took so long The review process, called Plan the Bruce, swung into high gear in 2021. Public consultations and meetings took place through 2022. And then came a change in focus at the provincial level, aimed at promoting housing growth.

The new draft Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) of 2023 led to a shift in direction at the county level. At the Aug. 16, 2024 meeting of Bruce County council, Jack Van Dorp, director of planning and development, presented an update on the OP review, stating the “timeline has evolved according to changing circumstances.” The county didn’t wait for the province to complete its shift in direction, but decided to go ahead and focus on areas “with minimal anticipated change.”

At that point, the county appeared to be in the process of putting the finishing touches on the OP, scheduling open houses and a public meeting, with the anticipated council approval of the OP in December 2024. At the time, Van Dorp cautioned that council was looking at a “best case scenario.” He explained that the timeline was subject to risk, one of which was change by the province.

In addition, public engagement results “may indicate a need for significant revisions,” which could affect the timeline. Luke Charbonneau, then the deputy warden, said, “It’s nice to see a timeline,” and added he’d like to see the OP adopted in 2024. Then-Warden Chris Peabody also liked the timeline, and remarked that “a new warden will be leading” the official adoption of the OP.”

It would be another two years, and a new county warden – Charbonneau – another round of public meetings, and a line-by-line council discussion of changes before the plan reached the point where council would be voting on the OP. The plan coming before council on July 16, 2026 includes submissions from the June 18 public meeting. Four public submissions have been received since the meeting – follow-up regarding the site-specific request to change the settlement area boundary of Formosa, as presented at the meeting; designation of Inverhuron; request for Core Area mapping in the area of Hope Bay; and mapping of hazards in the area of Judge’s Creek.

Staff have not identified further changes to the plan arising from the submissions. On July 2, Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment Office provided final comments. As stated in the report before council, “SON EO comments acknowledge a number of consultation efforts and positive outcomes in the draft Official Plan, while also expressing concerns that their comments and recommendations have not been fully reflected in the final draft.”

As part of the final approval process by the province, SON will have the opportunity to comment on the OP directly to the province. When the plan is approved The new Official Plan is a land use planning document that will guide land use and development in Bruce County to the year 2046. The plan was developed to reflect both local priorities identified through public engagement and provincial land use planning requirements.

The new Official Plan builds on guiding principles for Agriculture, Business, Connections, Communities, Good Growth, Heritage, Homes, Natural Legacy, and Indigenous Reconciliation and applies to all lands within Bruce County. The new Official Plan is designed to support complete communities in a thriving region.