Growth Management Strategy

A GMS is a long-term document that will help guide and manage appropriate growth and development throughout the County. It will provide an assessment of future growth and development and the amount of land needed to accommodate it. It will form the foundation of potential settlement area changes/expansions and policy updates for the 10-year review of the County Official Plan (COP) scheduled to be started in 2026. This will help the County and local municipalities coordinate infrastructure and services to 2051 and beyond.

The GMS is intended to ensure the County thoughtfully considers growth and development to determine where and how it wants to develop and grow over time considering provincial requirements, local considerations and public input.

The County, in consultation with the lower-tier municipalities, is responsible to:

• identify and allocate population, dwelling and employment projections;
• identify areas where growth or development will be focused;
• focus growth and development in settlement areas;
• identify minimum density targets for growth and development taking place in new or expanded settlement areas;
• maintain at all times the ability to accommodate a mix of housing options and densities for a minimum of 15 years through lands which are designated and available for residential development;

• plan for, protect and preserve employment areas.

It is the Province's vision to:

• increase in supply and mix of housing options,
• support investment readiness, and
• prioritize compact design in settlement areas to, in turn, support and protect the long-term viability of rural areas,

while protecting natural and cultural resources, mitigating risks from hazards and climate change and meaningfully engaging with Indigenous communities.

The Growth Management Strategy (GMS) consulting team will review background information, gather input from local municipalities, agencies, stakeholders and the public to allocate residential and employment growth for land use planning purposes. A GMS relies on information and data such as past growth trends (such as historical population and employment changes), current land uses, developable lands, current development activity (planning applications granted, building permits issued), and accepted modeling approaches to predicting anticipated future development needs.

Based on this, the GMS will identify if and where additional lands are needed for growth and development, considering such matters as the expansion of settlement areas or of regionally significant employment lands and updating growth related policies.

STAGE 1: Project Initiation (Completed)

A project approach presentation was made to the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) on March 5, 2025. For agenda, presentation, video and/or minutes of the PAC meeting, please visit: Agendas and Minutes or click Here for the PAC Minutes. The PAC's recommendation for a 90-day pause (due to uncertainty in the economic climate due to recently announced tariffs by the United States) was endorsed by Council on March 20, 2025.

The PAC considered staff report PAC-002-2025 regarding reactivating the GMS on July 9, 2025. (Council endorsed the recommendation of PAC to reactivate the GMS on July 24, 2025.) Minutes of the meeting will be available at: Agendas and Minutes.

Stage 2 work coincided with Stage 1 work outside of the paused period.

(Timeline: January - July 2025)

STAGE 2: Information Gathering (Completed)

A public Growth Proposal Requests Survey was issued (closed September 29, 2025).

As well, information was collected from the County and each municipality regarding development trends, planning policies, background studies, and geographic information. External data was also collected from various sources such as Statistics Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Ministry of Finance. The consultants reviewed and analyzed the information to identify regional and local trends.

The consultants met with representatives from each member lower tier municipality on September 10 and 11, 2025, met with the technical advisory group on September 10, 2025 (click here for presentation materials, click here for agenda), and held a virtual public consultation on October 2, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. (Click here for a copy of the public presentation.) A copy of the notice of the meeting is available here.

(Timeline: January - October, 2025)

STAGE 3: Draft Forecasts and Growth Options (We are here)

The consultants prepared two population, housing and employment forecasts and related land supply/growth needs assessment. These growth scenarios were reviewed by the technical advisory group on November 10, 2025 (click here for presentation, as revised), shared for comment with member municipalities on November 12, 2025, revised by the consultant based on feedback received, and then presented to the County Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) on December 10, 2025. The PAC agenda, video and minutes can be viewed here. The meeting could be viewed on-line or in person in the Council Chambers at 25 Central Ave. W., in Brockville. While this was not a statutory public meeting under the Planning Act, there was be an opportunity for questions at the end of the meeting.

The PAC’s recommendation, that “Council adopt the high growth forecast, in principle, as presented at the December 10, 2025 Planning Advisory Committee Meeting by Hemson, as the basis for long-term planning for the Counties to 2051”, was endorsed at Counties Council on December 18, 2025 with support to move forward with further consultations, including policy discussions.

Public consultation on the growth scenario, land needs, and growth management recommendations for policies happened on March 2 and 3, 2023. See the notice of these consultation meetings by clicking here. The notice was widely posted on websites (County and municipal), emailed, and shared in print.

The slide show from the consultation meetings is available here.

A video of one of the meetings, which had a virtual option, is available by clicking here.

STAGE 4: Draft and Finalize GMS

Following Stage 3 public consultation, the technical advisory group (TAG) will review the policies and public input that was provided at the various public consultation sessions. This meeting of the TAG is anticipated to be March 11, 2026. Following TAG, the consultant will present a draft Growth Management Strategy/framework, including implementation recommendations, to Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) for Counties consideration. The PAC date is anticipated to be April 8, 2026.

PAC feedback will be considered and incorporated as appropriate, following which the updated GMS/framework will be provided to member municipalities for their local consideration and input (targeted for May). Municipal feedback will be considered and incorporated as appropriate, following which a formal public meeting will be held before the Counties PAC (targeted for June/July).

(Projected Timeline: March - June/July, 2026)

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It is never to late to get involved. We want to hear from you!

If you are interested in being part of our ongoing engagement, monitor this webpage (subscribe at the bottom to get notice when the page has been updated) to learn about the most recent project activities and consultation opportunities, provide input by completing a survey (now closed), calling or emailing the contact below or attending public sessions and ask questions (via the contact below). You can also ask (via the contact below) to be added to a stakeholder list for periodic updates and communications.

Stage 2: The first public consultation took place via virtual public meeting on October 2, 2025 at 4:00 p.m., with a presentation by our consulting team, Hemson Consulting, on the process and findings to date, followed by questions and comments.

Stage 3: The public was welcomed to view and ask questions when a presentation was provided to the Planning Advisory Committee on December 10, 2025 regarding growth scenario options, draft allocations and general policy topic areas. Attend a public consultation session - there are three meetings offered in different locations in the Counties during March, 2026 (see top of page), including one virtual opportunity.

Stage 4: Municipalities will be asked to formally comment on the GMS (likely in May, 2026). This is an opportunity that you can get involved with your local Council by providing your comments to them. Formal/statutory public consultation is expected to take place in June, 2026.

All input received will be considered during the development of the GMS.

Planning Act

Provincial Planning Statement (PPS)

County Official Plan (COP)

The County has retained Hemson Consulting Inc. to undertake the Growth Management Strategy (GMS) for the County. Hemson is well known in the industry and completed similar work for the County back in 2015 which was used in the first County Official Plan (COP).

County Planning Services Department staff will work closely with Hemson to gather data, review inputs, review assumptions, review material before circulation to the County Planning Advisory Committee and the Technical Advisory Group, and provide feedback.

Comments or questions? Contact: Elaine M. Mallory, Planner II, 613-342-3840/800-770-2170 (Ext. 2422). All input received will be considered during the development of the GMS.

Local municipalities will be directly consulted and participate in all aspects of the process. They will provide data as input to the forecasts and will review and provide feedback on draft forecasts, growth scenarios and options and any policy changes.

Input and feedback from the members of the public, including landowners and developers, is welcome anytime and will be specifically sought.

The County Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) will review findings and provide feedback on growth scenarios and policy options. The PAC is composed of all members of County Council and three citizen appointees. The PAC will provide recommendations to County Council regarding the preferred final scenario, options for growth and related County Official Plan policies.

County Council will be requested to make the final decisions, considering the best interests of the United Counties, regarding the preferred growth scenario, and where and how it wants growth and development to occur, in keeping with the direction of the Provincial Planning Statement.