Official Plan

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has issued a Notice of Decision to approve the City’s New Official Plan, adopted by By-law 2021-386, and has subsequently repealed the previous Official Plan (By-law 2003-203). The new Official Plan is posted below.

File No.:           06-OP-205766
Municipality:     City of Ottawa
Subject Lands: All lands within the City of Ottawa
Date of Decision: November 4, 2022
Date of Notice: November 4, 2022

NOTICE OF DECISION

With respect to an Official Plan Amendment under subsection 17(34) of the Planning Act

A decision was made on the date noted above to approve, with thirty (30) modifications, the new City of Ottawa Official Plan as adopted by By-law No. 2021-386.

Purpose and Effect of the Official Plan

The approval of City of Ottawa’s new official plan, as modified, repeals and replaces the in- effect official plan adopted by the city in 2003 and all amendments thereto. The new official plan outlines a comprehensive land use policy framework to guide growth and development within the city to the year 2046, including policies and schedules that address housing and growth management; long-term planning for employment and infrastructure; protect water resources, natural heritage and agricultural areas; manage non-renewable resources; plan for climate change; and safeguard public health and safety.

The thirty (30) modifications to the official plan have been made by the Minister to address provincial policy direction and government priorities related the long-term protection of provincial highways, wetland protection, monitoring of affordable housing and increasing housing supply.

The new official plan applies to all lands within the City of Ottawa.

Decision Final

Pursuant to subsections 17(36.5) and (38.1) of the Planning Act, the decision of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing regarding an official plan adopted in accordance with section 26 of the Planning Act is final and not subject to appeal. Accordingly, the new City of Ottawa Official Plan, as approved with modifications by the Minister, came into effect on November 4, 2022.

Other Related Applications

None.

Getting Additional Information

Additional information is available on the City of Ottawa’s website or by contacting the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing:

Municipal Services Office – Eastern Region
8 Estate Lane
​​​​​​​Kingston, ON K7M 9A8

City of Ottawa Official Plan
Publication ?
As Adopted by Council – November 24, 2021

By-law No. 2021-386

A by-law to adopt a New Official Plan for the City of Ottawa.

WHEREAS the Planning Act, section 17 and 26, permits the City of Ottawa to adopt an Official Plan; and

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa has engaged upon public consultation and has held the required open house and statutory public meetings for the adoption of an Official Plan;

NOW THEREFORE the Council of the City of Ottawa enacts as follows:

1. The document appended to this by-law as Annex "A" entitled "City of Ottawa Official Plan" is hereby adopted as the Official Plan for the City of Ottawa.
2. The Official Plan of the City of Ottawa as adopted by By-law 2003-203, section 1, and all amendments and modifications thereto, whether in force or under appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, are hereby repealed;
3. That part of the Official Plan of the City of Ottawa contained within Volume 2A (Secondary Plans), Volume 2B (Site Specific Policies) and Volume 2C (Village Plans), continued in force pursuant to By-law 2003-203, section 3, and all amendments and modifications thereto, whether in force or under appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, is hereby repealed;
4. Any Official Plan provision of the City of Ottawa not included in the Official Plan as adopted in By-law 2003-203 and as modified and amended, or Volumes 2A, 2B or 2C, i any, whether in force or under appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, is hereby repealed.
5. The Official Plan as adopted by this by-law shall come into force in accordance with the provision of the Planning Act, subsections 17(34) and (38.1).
6. Sections 2, 3 and 4 of this by-law shall come into force when the decision by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, or his duly authorized delegate, pursuant to the Planning Act, subsection 17(34) comes into force in accordance with the Planning Act, subsection 17(38.1).

ENACTED AND PASSED this 24th day of November, 2021,
Caitlin Salter-MacDonald Deputy City Clerk
Jim Watson Mayor

Amending the Official Plan

This is a consolidation of the Official Plan for the City of Ottawa as adopted under By-law 2021-386 by City Council on November 24, 2021, and modified by the Minister of Municipal Affairs on April 2022 and modified by the Ontario Tribunal in various decisions and official plan amendments _____ by Council.

This consolidation is for convenience only. Reference should be made to the original certified documents which are on file in the City Clerk, City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 1J1.

For proper and easy referencing, notations have been provided whenever changes to the original text have been made. These notations appear in short form and refer to the amending and modifying documents listed below.

Modifying/Amending Document Form Used in Notations

• Modifications made by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on November 10, 2003 concurrent with approval of certain parts of the Official Plan. [Ministerial Modification 16, November 10, 2003]

Appeals Before the Ontario Municipal Board Form Used In Notations

• Outstanding appeals before the Ontario Municipal Board [Appeal x]

Modifying/Amending Document Form Used in Notations

• Modifications made by the Ontario Municipal Board concurrent with approval of certain parts of the Official Plan. [OMB decision #253, February 9, 2005]

Official Plan Amendments Form Used in Notations

• Changes made by official plan amendments that have been approved The affected text and related notation will be italicized and bolded. [Amendment 8, July 14, 2004]

The Official Plan provides direction to continually monitor the effectiveness of the plan’s policies to determine if the City is on track to meet its strategic directions and objectives. Therefore, the Official Plan (OP) Monitoring Report is a new information report that tracks specific data indicators over time to assess the progress of Official Plan policies, goals, and objectives.

Official Plan Monitoring – 2022 Draft Baseline Report [ PDF 3.103 MB ]

This draft monitoring report establishes a baseline of currently available data indicators. The reporting period for this report is from 2018 to 2022, with certain growth management indicators measured mid-year to mid-year from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2022, to allow for direct comparison with Official Plan projections which are mid-year.

Staff will continue to monitor the established policy indicators, explore potential new indicators, and report on the City’s performance in achieving the policies, goals, and objectives within the OP on an annual basis, with the 2023 update scheduled for Q4 2024.

For more information, you can contact: Maddie.Harreman-Fernandes@ottawa.ca 

Performance Report

To be able to provide transparency and easily assess the City’s performance in achieving the goals set out in the Official Plan, a performance report of the OP Monitoring Report quickly summarizes the status of OP policy indicators and grades each indicator based on performance.

2022 Performance Report [ PDF 254 KB ]

Meeting or exceeding - Meeting or exceeding Official Plan targets or objectives

Progress being made - Progress being made, but not meeting Official Plan targets or objectives

No or minimal progress - No or minimal progress being made towards Official Plan targets or objectives

Not enough info - Not enough information to assess performance at this time