Official Plan | Town of Bracebridge

The Town of Bracebridge, in consultation with Meridian Planning, are reviewing the Official Plan. Bracebridge’s current Oﬃcial Plan was adopted in 2013, and the province requires that official plans be updated no less than 10 years from the effective date.

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Bracebridge's Official Plan reflects the community's vision and goals for the future while ensuring growth is smart and coordinated. It provides a framework for decision making on things like new housing, places to work, shopping, parks and more. More importantly, it determines what’s required to service that development. An Official Plan also includes important policy to protect the Town’s natural, heritage and cultural resources and guides how development should occur.

The Official Plan was developed in 2013 and describes Council's policies on how land in Bracebridge should be used and developed based on input from the community. The Official Plan outlines:

Where new housing, businesses and shops will be located;
When, and in what order, parts of the community will grow;
Policies that support ongoing protection of the environment; and
Community improvement initiatives.

Why the Town needs an Official Plan

Lets the public know what the municipality's general land use planning policies are;
Makes sure that growth is coordinated and meets your community's needs;
Helps all members of the community understand how their land may be used now and in the future;
Helps decide where roads, watermains, sewers, garbage dumps, parks and other services will be built;
Provides a framework for establishing municipal zoning by-laws to set local regulations and standards, like the size of lots and height of buildings;
Provides a way to evaluate and settle conflicting land uses while meeting local, regional and provincial interests; and
Shows Council's commitment to the future growth of your community.

The Official Plan provides a framework for establishing the Comprehensive Zoning By-law that sets development standards like the size of lots and height of buildings.

Official Plan Amendments

An Official Plan Amendment application is required if development does not conform to the Town's Official Plan.

Official Plan Amendments

	Details	Date
Official Plan Amendment #1	Site Specific, TDCI/Ecclestone Drive	Approved in 2014
Official Plan Amendment #2	Uptown area	Approved in 2015
Official Plan Amendment #3	Site Specific, 101 Entrance Drive (the Foundry),	Approved in 2016
Official Plan Amendment #4	Site Specific, Dennis/Lone Pine Drive	Approved in 2016
Official Plan Amendment #5	Site Specific, 541 Cedar Lane/fitness facility	Approved in 2017
Official Plan Amendment #6	Small Lot Detached Dwellings (Urban Centre Policies)	Approved in 2018
Official Plan Amendment #7	Residential Density Calculations (Urban Centre)	Approved in 2018
Official Plan Amendment #8	Muskoka Royale Development	Approved in 2021, under appeal
Official Plan Amendment #9	Site Specific, Ganesh/320 Taylor Road/982 Cedar Lane	Approved in 2019
Official Plan Amendment #10	Site Specific, Lions Club/321 and 325 Fraserburg Road	Approved in 2019
Official Plan Amendment #11	Site Specific, BDY Holdings/Community Living/Balls Drive	Approved in 2019
Official Plan Amendment #12	Site Specific, 571 Manitoba Street,	Approved in 2019
Official Plan Amendment #13	Site Specific, 2819 Highway 118 East,	Approved in 2023/24
Official Plan Amendment #14	Site Specific, 50 Balls Drive (Prasher Holdings Inc),	Approved in 2024
Official Plan Amendment #15	Public Notification and Engagement,	Approved in 2024
Official Plan Amendment #16	Site Specific, 1017 Rainbow Lane (Rainbow Lane Cottagers Corporation),	Approved in 2024

Application Process Overview

Considered by the Town's Planning and Development Committee;
Recommendations from Planning and Development Committee are considered by Council;
Proposed Official Plan Amendment is forwarded to the District of Muskoka as the approval authority for the Town's Official Plan;
The District of Muskoka makes a decision on the Official Plan Amendment and provides Notice of Approval;
An appeal period is required between the time of passing and final approval of the amendment.

A minimum 6 months is required to complete the Official Plan Amendment process.

Procedures for Submitting an Official Plan Amendment Application

Official Plan Application Form

Pre-Consultation Meeting

Request an Appointment

The Town's Planning Services Branch is committed to working with the public and strongly encourages pre-consultation meetings with staff prior to making an application under the Planning Act.

A pre-consultation form is available to provide staff with information on the proposed development to ensure appropriate staff members and/or agencies are included in the meeting.

A pre-consultation meeting may be subject to a fee, which shall be reduced from the application fee should the application be made within one year of the pre-consultation meeting date.

Request a Pre-Consultation