The Town of Collingwood is pleased to share that the Ontario Land Tribunal has confirmed the Town’s 2024 Official Plan is now in effect on most properties in town, except for twelve site-specific appeals. This marks an important milestone for the community and provides an updated planning framework to guide how Collingwood grows, develops, and evolves over the coming decades.
“This decision brings welcome clarity and momentum for sustainable development and growth in Collingwood,” says Mayor Yvonne Hamlin. “With the new Official Plan now in effect, the Town has a clear and modern framework to guide future growth and development. The Plan reflects our community’s vision for Collingwood and will help ensure we continue to grow in a way that supports housing opportunities, economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and the high quality of life our residents value.”
What is the Official Plan?
The 2024 Official Plan sets out a shared vision for how Collingwood will grow and change as a complete community to 2051. It replaces the Town’s 2004 Official Plan and supports long-term planning for housing, transportation, infrastructure, economic development, natural heritage, climate resilience, community services, and much more.
The Plan works with the Town’s Community-based Strategic Plan and other master plans. Together, they help guide decisions that support a healthy, safe, sustainable, affordable, and complete community.
The Plan also reflects Provincial and County of Simcoe planning requirements while focusing on Collingwood’s local needs and priorities. Although it is a long-term plan, it can be updated over time as community needs change.
Background
The Plan was shaped by extensive public consultation over nearly four years, including community, Indigenous and stakeholder input, background reports, research, and public comments. Collingwood Council then adopted the 2024 Official Plan on December 11, 2023. Following Council’s decision, the Town worked with the County of Simcoe on mutually agreeable modifications. The County then approved the new Official Plan on September 24, 2024, with four areas of non-decision identified.
There were sixteen appeals to the new Official Plan. Four have been resolved, and the remaining twelve are site-specific, which means they only apply to certain properties in the Town.
After nearly two years of work to resolve and narrow the appeals, the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) held a motion hearing on June 30, 2026. It then issued an order confirming that the new Official Plan was deemed to have come into effect on October 30, 2024, except for the policies and schedules that are still under site-specific appeal. Information about the remaining appeals is included in the preamble for the Official Plan. OLT hearing and decision information is available on the OLT website under Case Number OLT-24-001113.