City of Greater Sudbury - Approval to amend a municipality’s official plan

Description of Instrument

The purpose of Official Plan Amendment No.88 is to update the land use policies for the City of Greater Sudbury in accordance with Section 26 of the Planning Act. The in-effect/current Official Plan was approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in June 2007. The official plan was subject to four appeals, and came into effect in its entirety on August 26, 2010 (LPAT File PL070279). As of June 2018 the plan has been amended a total of 57 times.

The official plan review program began in 2011 with a goal of updating the City's framework for growth and development. The current update of the Plan was based on extensive consultation with the public and other agencies, including provincial ministries through the One Window planning system. Several background studies were undertaken by City staff addressing such matters as growth and settlement and land needs; population, household and employment projections; climate change; local food systems; natural heritage features; rural consent policy options; second units; cultural heritage features; housing and homelessness; developing a water quality model for the City's lakes; parks and open spaces; and rental conversion policies.

The official plan update:

• Addresses current and anticipated future development and land use policy requirements in the municipality;
• Ensures that the Plan conforms with, or does not conflict with, the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario and has regard for matters of provincial interest; and
• Ensures that the Plan is consistent with the 2014 Provincial Policy Statement as it applies to the social, economic and land use planning circumstances of the City of Greater Sudbury.

The update (OPA No. 88) was adopted by the City of Greater Sudbury by By-law 2018-124P on June 26, 2018.

The Ministry is the approval authority for official plans and statutory reviews of official plans under Section 26 of the Planning Act. The decision of the Minister is final and not subject to appeal.

Other Information

The Official Plan establishes the policies for the use of land and development on patent lands within the boundaries of the City of Greater Sudbury. Official plans shall be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, must conform with or not conflict with provincial plans such as the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario, and shall have regard for provincial interests set out in Section 2 of the Planning Act.

Other Public Consultation Opportunities

The City of Greater Sudbury held a number of public meetings and open houses regarding the official plan update. These included a January 23, 2012 special meeting of Council under the Planning Act required for a five-year review of an official plan and a statutory meeting on June 26, 2018 where the official plan was adopted. There were also 17 public meetings with Planning Committee regarding the official plan, 12 meetings with various advisory panels, 16 public open houses, 1 public input session and a 1 day-long stakeholder workshop. In addition, City staff held more than 50 meetings with residents, landowners, developers, Community Action Networks, community stakeholder groups and public bodies.