City of Orillia Municipal Comprehensive Review

A Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) is a long-range land use planning process informed by provincial planning policy. The City of Orillia is provincially mandated to complete this process.

In 2018, the City of Orillia hired consultants to prepare a Lands Needs Assessment (LNA), one of the many studies required as part of the MCR. An LNA is a study that evaluates whether a municipality can accommodate future employment and population growth as identified in the provincial planning policy. Based on the results of this study released in 2020, the City of Orillia does not have enough land for growth as projected to 2051. The City of Orillia would essentially be out of land for new housing and development by the early 2030s. In 2021, the City of Orillia began to evaluate the different growth options, with one option being a potential boundary expansion. In April 2022, Orillia Council asked staff and the project consultant to update this study by further considering options for intensification and density targets. This update may influence the boundary expansion recommendations and how the City meets its employment and population growth targets. 

Yes, lands in Severn are being considered as part of the potential boundary expansion, as well as lands in the Township of Oro-Medonte. The initial amount of land needed to allow for the City's growth was proposed as 380 hectares. However, the exact amount of land may change in response to the study update requested by Orillia Council in April, 2022. 

Public and stakeholder consultation will continue to take place, including opportunities to comment on the revised proposed boundary expansion. You can stay up to date on these opportunities by subscribing to updates at orillia.ca/planningforthefuture. You are also welcome to submit comments in writing to planning@orillia.ca. 

The City of Orillia has provided a visual timeline which outlines the process. This timeline is subject to change.