Dufferin County continues to advance its goal of fostering complete, healthy and sustainable communities and enhancing quality of life for its residents with the recent completion of the Municipal Comprehensive Review process.

The Municipal Comprehensive Review process was recently completed with Dufferin County receiving approval on Official Plan Amendment Four from the Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The most recent approval was preceded by approvals to Official Plan Amendments Two and Three, which occurred on October 9, 2024.

Dufferin County is expected to grow to approximately 100,700 people and 40,900 jobs by 2051. This represents an increase in 32,300 people and 14,100 jobs between 2021 to 2051.  To plan and accommodate this growth, the County undertook a review and update of the Official Plan through a process called a Municipal Comprehensive Review.

An Official Plan provides policy direction on how land in the community should be used by upper-tier, lower-tier and single-tier municipalities.

The Official Plan for Dufferin County provides over-arching policy direction on matters of county significance. It directs growth management and land use decisions in Dufferin by providing upper-tier land use planning guidance for the County’s eight local municipalities.

The Official Plan provides upper-tier land use planning policies to manage growth and development within the county over the planning horizon.

The updated Official Plan will set out a long-term planning horizon and growth management framework for the County so that it can accommodate anticipated population and employment forecasts.

Official Plan Amendment #2 has implemented updated population and employment forecasts for the County of Dufferin, as well as each of Dufferin County’s eight lower-tier municipalities.

This amendment also implemented new intensification targets and land allocations related to employment, residential and commercial needs for each of Dufferin’s lower-tier municipalities.

Official Plan Amendment #3 has implemented changes to key land use schedules within the County of Dufferin Official Plan.

This amendment has also implemented verbiage and general policy changes to ensure the County is reaching the goals identified in its updated Official Plan.

Official Plan Amendment #4 has implemented significant changes to key land use policies relating to employment land conversions, settlement area expansions, and the establishment of additional residential units.

This amendment also updated references to provincial policies no longer in-effect and modified and added several new definitions.

The County has updated the Official Plan to reflect all the updates made as part of the Municipal Comprehensive Review. The final consolidated document is now available on the County of Dufferin website here.

With the Province of Ontario recently implementing a new Provincial Planning Statement in October 2024, the County is required to undertake an additional Official Plan Amendment to ensure conformity with any policies that were added or modified in the new Provincial Planning Statement. The County is currently in the process of retaining a consultant to undertake the amendment exercise.

-30-

MEDIA CONTACT:
Megan Ball, Manager of Communications
mball@dufferincounty.ca