Update on the Regional Official Plan Review Process

Now that we have received your feedback on the preliminary growth scenarios and evaluation criteria, we would like to loop you in on the next steps for the Regional Official Plan Review (ROPR).

We continue to work towards meeting the Province's deadline of July 1, 2022 for completing the Regional Official Plan Review (ROPR) as follows:

1. identify a preferred growth scenario based on community feedback and Regional and Provincial policies (anticipated in August 2021). As posted on our Engage website and discussed in our Ask-a-Planner webinar on June 24, the deadline for feedback on the three preliminary growth scenarios and the evaluation criteria was July 30;
2. complete a draft Land Needs Assessment (LNA), or "land budget", based on the preferred growth scenario by the end of August. Please note that any Urban Area Boundary expansion requests must be submitted by Friday, August 27th to Regional staff. After this date, we can no longer accept any more expansion requests;
3. the draft LNA, as well as any recommended additional urban lands, area municipal population and employment allocations, and density targets and intensification rates, will be released to the public for a month-long consultation and feedback period; and,
4. based on feedback received during the public consultation period, staff will draft a report to Regional Council, seeking endorsement of the LNA. This report will go to Council early this fall.

We will provide more updates in the fall, as we continue to progress towards the July 22, 2022 Provincial deadline for completing the ROPR. Please feel free to reach out to our team (RegionalOfficialPlanReview@regionofwaterloo.ca) for any follow-up questions or if you require clarification.