Official Plan Update
Official Plan Background
The Town of Pelham new Official Plan (OP) was adopted by Council on May 21, 2025, following a three-phase approach that included:
Phase 1 – Conformity Review (2023)
• Review of the existing OP to identify required updates to meet provincial and regional policy requirements.
Phase 2 – Draft Plan & Consultation (2024–Early 2025)
• Release of the draft OP and public, stakeholder, and agency consultation to inform revisions.
Phase 3 – Statutory Meeting & Adoption (2025)
• Statutory public meeting held and final OP brought forward for Council adoption and provincial approval.
Click below to view:
Official Plan Redlined with Provincial Changes
The Town of Pelham Official Plan 2026 was prepared based on comments and proposed changes from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) on the Town’s 2025 adopted Official Plan.
The Official Plan 2026 maintains conformity with Section 26 of the Planning Act, which guides the short- and long-term development of a community. The Plan also provides direction on the size and location of land uses, as well as descriptive policies to control the development and use of all land in the Town of Pelham.
These policies are necessary to promote orderly growth and compatibility among land uses.
The links below include updated schedules and two new appendices based on provincial comments.
OP Redlined With Province Comments FINAL Apr 23 2026 2026 OP New Appendix 2 2026 OP New Appendix 1 2026 OP Revised Schedule A 2026 OP Revised A1
Statutory Public Meeting May 13, 2026
Notice of Statutory Public Meeting
Town of Pelham Official Plan 2026
Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Place: This hearing will be a hybrid (virtual/in-person) meeting.
Virtual Participation: Zoom Webinar/YouTube Livestream
In-person Participation: Town Hall, Council Chambers 20 Pelham Town Square, Fonthill
Town Council approved hybrid meetings via By-law No. 4507 (2022). The Town of Pelham live webcast of the Public Meeting will be streaming at: https://www.youtube.com/user/TownOfPelham
Background
The Town of Pelham Official Plan was adopted by Council on May 21, 2025, following a comprehensive three-phase process that included a Conformity Review (2023), Draft Plan and Public Consultation (2024), and a Statutory Public Meeting and Adoption (2025).
Bill 23 (“More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022”) removed key upper-tier planning responsibilities from the Regional Municipality of Niagara, including authority over official plans, official plan amendments, subdivision approvals, and appeal functions. As a result, the approval authority for the Town of Pelham’s new Official Plan shifted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. This change occurred on March 31, 2025.
The Town of Pelham submitted its adopted Official Plan to the Province in early June 2025, and it was deemed complete on June 26, 2025.
On February 2, 2026, the Province provided comments requiring revisions to ensure full conformity with applicable provincial plans. As a result of these provincially directed changes, the Town has been advised that a further review under Section 26 of the Planning Act, including an additional statutory public meeting, is required. This process is being undertaken to address the required modifications and to comply with provincial direction.
Key highlights of the provincial changes include:
• New suggested wording for mineral aggregate policies to ensure conformity with appropriate provincial legislation;
• Re-working Section 9: Rural Area Land Use to ensure consistency with Provincial Plans in terms of language used and policies;
• Changes to complete application requirements, pre-consultation requirements and required studies;
• Introduction of additional policies in Section 4 to address wildland fire hazards and human-made hazards;
• Mapping to identify wildland fire hazard areas and gas well locations;
• Removal of Secondary Plans from the principal document;
• Changes for site plan requirements for urban design, and climate change initiatives to align with new Provincial policy guidance;
• Minor changes to schedules A and A1 to address legend terminology and highlight the Greenbelt Protected Countryside area and Rural Area;
• A number of minor wording, numbering, reference requirements and general minor revisions to better align with provincial policy, including verbatim inclusion of wording from various provincial documents (PPS, Greenbelt etc.) and;
• Re-designation of industrial lands surrounding the airport to align with the Niagara Official Plan designations in this location and appropriate policies in accordance with the following:
For additional information on the initial Official Plan adoption, please contact the Policy Planner.
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