Zoning By-law Amendment 2025-012 to consider General Amendments and Site Specific Amendments to the Township of Woolwich Comprehensive Zoning By-law 26-2024, as amended.

Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at 7:00 p.m., Township Council Chambers, 24 Church Street West, Elmira

Take Notice that in accordance with the Planning Act, R.S.O., 1990, as amended, the Township of Woolwich will hold a Public Meeting, under Section 34 of the Planning Act, to consider general amendments and two site specific amendments to the Township of Woolwich Comprehensive Zoning By-law 26-2024, as amended. No decisions will be made at this meeting; its purpose is to provide additional information and to receive comments from the public and agencies.

A list of the issues proposed to be addressed by the amending by-law are noted below. An information report will be available at the Public Meeting on December 16^th to provide a brief summary of the proposed changes and will include a copy of the proposed amending by-law. As the general amendments will apply to all lands within the municipal boundary of the Township of Woolwich a location map is not included, except for those proposed amendments that affect a specific property as detailed below and on Maps 1 and 2. A copy of the proposed amending by-law is also available for review on Engage Woolwich at www.engagewr.ca/2025-Woolwich-ZBL or at the Planning Counter at the first floor of the Township’s Administration Office located at 24 Church Street West in Elmira. Please be advised that Notice of the Public Meeting does not indicate whether the Township is in support of, or in opposition to the proposal. That determination will be made at a later date.

List of Proposed Issues to be Addressed by the Proposed Amending By-law are as Follows:

1. Provide new measures to enforce the Zoning By-law.
2. Provide new and updated definitions.
3. Amend Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) regulations with respect to size, type, height, lot coverage, and location.
4. Clarify that the buffer provisions apply only to non-residential uses adjacent to residential, agricultural, and mixed-use zones.
5. Increase the maximum widths of driveways for smaller lots while maintaining an appropriate landscaping strip and limiting the number of driveways for certain size lots.
6. Reduce the side yard separation between two residential buildings to allow the pairing of driveways to increase the available on-street parking.
7. Refine regulations with respect to location of air conditioners to ensure that they do not impact the primary drainage system on a lot.
8. Include provisions that require lots within Breslau, Elmira, St. Jacobs, and the Stockyards Area to connect to municipal services as part of new development unless otherwise permitted in a site specific policy area of the Township’s Official Plan.
9. Update and refine parking and driveway regulations associated with high density and non-residential developments.
10. Update the illustrations in the Zoning By-law.
11. Refine the provisions related to the clustering of farm buildings.
12. Add boarding houses as a permitted use in certain residential zones.
13. Add Industrial Mall as a permitted use in the EM-4 and EM-5 zones.
14. Amend the mapping to address any errors and to include updated information provided by the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) with respect to hazard lands.
15. Correct spelling and grammatical errors, renumber sections, and cross-reference sections or rephrase sections to provide greater clarity on the intent of the provisions.
16. Resolving potential land use issues associated with the property at 9 Scheifele Place which are otherwise not permitted in the MU-3 zone. See Map 1.
17. Change the zoning for the property at 61 Woolwich Street North from MU-3 to MU-2 to conform with the mixed-use designation in the Townships Official Plan. See Map 2.

MORE INFORMATION: Should you require a copy of this Notice in an alternative text please contact our office.

Additional information as noted above can be viewed by contacting Planning staff to schedule an appointment to view the documents at the Township Administration building located at 24 Church Street West, Elmira weekdays between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.To schedule an appointment please call 519-669-6040 or email planning@woolwich.ca

View / print the information from the Township EngageWR page – www.engagewr.ca/2025-Woolwich-ZBL

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

WATCH the Public Meeting / Council meeting online via the Woolwich Township YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@woolwichtownship9588 or in person at the Administration Office at 24 Church St. W in Elmira. Registration is not required to watch a meeting.

SPEAK at the Public Meeting by REGISTERING with the Committee Clerk on or before 10:00 am on December 16, 2025. How to register:

• online by searching: form.woolwich.ca/Speak-to-Council;
• by email to clerk@woolwich.ca; or
• by phone at 519-669-6004 or toll free 1-877-969-0094 ext. 6004

If registering by phone or email, you must provide your name, phone number, email, the application number you would like to comment on, and if you wish to speak in person or virtually (Zoom). Once you are registered, the Committee Clerk will forward information on how to attend in person or virtually. If you would like more information on speaking to Council, visit www.woolwich.ca/learn-about/council/council-meetings.

If you are concerned that you do not have access to phone or internet or are otherwise concerned about the reliability of your signal, please ensure that you either attend in person or submit written comments (see instructions below). Written comments do not negate your opportunity to also speak at the Public Meeting but do ensure your voice is heard should your electronic connection to the meeting not work.

WHY REGISTER: By registering, staff can ensure that virtual speakers are provided access to the meeting, can confirm which application you are commenting on and, the meeting Chair can call on you at the appropriate time to comment if you wish to do so.

SUBMITTING COMMENTS AND REQUESTING NOTIFICATION

You can express your concerns/ comments about the proposed changes in writing to the Township of Woolwich. Any comments received on or before Wednesday December 3, 2025 (Note that this date is before the public meeting) will be included in a report prepared by Development Services and presented at the Public Meeting. Any comments received after the Public Meeting, but prior to Council making a decision on the applications, will be considered.

The personal information accompanying your submission is being collected under the authority of the Planning Act and may form part of the public record which may be released to the public. This information is collected and maintained for the purpose of creating a record that is available to the general public at the Committee of the Whole and Council meetings. Please note that while the Committee of the Whole and Council may redact some personal information such as email addresses and phone numbers, your submissions will otherwise be made public in their entirety. Questions about this collection should be directed to the Records and Freedom of Information Officer at 519-669-1647 or 1-877-969-0094 ext. 6005.

If you wish to be notified of future meetings and reports regarding these applications, please:

• submit a written request, noting that you wish to be kept informed, to the Township of Woolwich, Development Services, 24 Church Street West, Box 158, Elmira, Ontario N3B 2Z6, or
• email your request noting that you wish to be kept informed to planning@woolwich.ca

The Planning Act lists the steps that must be taken to ensure that all issues are looked after. This notice is an example of one of the many activities that the Planning Act requires the Township to complete.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: After receiving and reviewing comments staff will prepare a report and recommendation for the Committee of the Whole. Committee of the Whole consists of all members of Council who sit as a Committee to hear various applications. The Committee makes a recommendation to Council which could include approving, refusing, amending or deferring the applications.

COUNCIL: Council can then approve, refuse, amend or defer the applications.If the applications are approved then Council passes the respective By-laws.

NOTICE OF PASSING: When a By-law has been passed by Council a Notice of Passing is mailed, within 15 days, to all property owners previously circulated and those requesting notification.

APPEAL RIGHTS: TAKE NOTICE that if a specified person or public body (as defined in the Planning Act), or the registered owner of land to which the by-law would apply, would otherwise have an ability to appeal the decision of the Council of the Township of Woolwich to the Ontario Land Tribunal but if the specified person, public body, or registered owner does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the Township of Woolwich before the by-law is passed the specified person, public body, or registered owner is not entitled to appeal the decision. In other words, if an eligible specified person, public body, or landowner does not make an oral or written submission to Council before the by-law is passed, then they are ineligible to appeal the decision.

AND TAKE NOTICE that if a person or public body does not make oral submissions at the public meeting or make written submissions to the Township of Woolwich before the by-law is passed, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to do so.

Questions or written submissions may be directed to:

Jonathan Delli Colli, Junior Planner – Housing, Development Services

jdellicolli@woolwich.ca, 519-514-6068

Township of Woolwich

Development Services Department

Box 158

24 Church Street West

Elmira, Ontario

N3B 2Z6