Approved Regional Official Plan Amendments
Changes to Peel Region's Role in Land Use Planning
On July 1, 2024, under the Planning Act, Peel Region was designated an "upper-tier municipality without planning responsibilities." Consequently, the Cities of Brampton and Mississauga and the Town of Caledon are the land use planning authorities responsible for local and regional official plans and development applications. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is the approval authority for certain official plan reviews and amendments.
Regional Official Plan Amendment (ROPA) 27 was the first set of policies approved by the Province as part of the Peel 2051 process, and formed an amendment to the 1996 Regional Official Plan. These policies provided new and updated direction in respect to:
- Age-friendly planning
- Health and the built environment
- Technical administrative updates.
These policies were adopted to strengthen the application of health-based criteria in the land-use planning process across the Region and to support seniors aging in place.
The approved ROPA 27, as adopted by By-Law 12-2017, went into effect on September 1, 2017.
On December 8, 2016 Regional Council adopted Regional Official Plan Amendment (ROPA) 30 to expand the Bolton Rural Service Centre settlement boundary based on Option 6 and the Triangle Lands – Notice of Adoption of ROPA 30 and By-law 67-2016.
This decision received multiple appeals. On November 30, 2020, a settlement was reached and ROPA 30 was approved by oral decision at the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (now known as the Ontario Land Tribunal).
All updates and contact information regarding this appeal can be found on the OLT e-decisions page, quoting case number PL170058.
Study Overview
In 2012, the Town of Caledon looked at how to accommodate future population growth up to the year 2031 and where growth should occur. Based on the results of this study, Caledon requested that Peel amend the Regional Official Plan to expand the Bolton Rural Service Centre for residential use in 2014. Learn more about Caledon's Bolton Residential Expansion Study.
Through the Bolton Residential Expansion Area study, Peel looked into possible options for the expansion of Bolton's Rural Service Centre including six prospective land areas and the "rounding out areas" identified during Caledon's planning process and a "triangle" of land between the Regional Official Plan Amendment (ROPA) 28 area and Mayfield Road (originally part of the ROPA 28 application). Download the Expansion Area Options Map.
Peel considered this application in keeping with the Planning Act and other necessary Provincial plans and policies, the Regional Official Plan, and the Provincially-facilitated settlement of ROPA 28 (South Albion-Bolton Employment Lands and North Hill Supermarket). An initial public meeting was held in regard to the Bolton Residential Expansion Area study on February 18, 2016.
Peel retained a consultant, The Planning Partnership, to prepare a Discussion Paper and Recommendations Report to consider the Town of Caledon's application to amend the Regional Official Plan. These reports were peer reviewed with outside parties, GM Blue Plan and ESI, to confirm the costing methodology and the servicing strategies and to validate estimates.
Based on the results of this study, Peel drafted ROPA 30 and requested to hold a statutory Public Meeting and Open House. On July 21, 2016, Regional Council made the decision to proceed with public statutory consultation for proposed ROPA 30, which would expand the Bolton Rural Service Centre boundary to incorporate the areas known as the "Option 6" and the "Triangle" lands. Download Council Resolution 2016-662 and proposed ROPA 30. The statutory Open House was held on September 14, 2016 and the statutory Public Meeting was held on September 29, 2016.
For more information on this study, email planpeel@peelregion.ca.