Regional Official Plan Amendments

There is a formal process under the Planning Act that allows requests to amend an official plan. The request follows a formal review process and is known as a Regional Official Plan Amendment or ROPA.

Once an amendment is approved and takes effect, it becomes part of the Official Plan.

Amendments are incorporated into the next office consolidation of the Niagara Official Plan for information purposes.

Once an amendment to the plan is approved, it is part of the official plan.

The Regional Official Plan may be reviewed and amended when:

The Ontario Planning Act requires municipal official plans to undergo a comprehensive review every five years to ensure they conform with provincial policy
Provincial policies are introduced that require municipalities to review their official plans by certain deadlines
An individual or business applicant applies for an amendment to the official plan
Niagara Region must update policies, schedules and mapping

Contact

To propose an amendment to the Niagara Official Plan or for more information, contact:

Growth Strategy and Economic Development
Niagara Region
905-980-6000
Email Growth Strategy and Economic Development

2022 Niagara Official Plan amendments

ROPA 1 - Proposed new sanitary sewer, Niagara-on-the-Lake
Status: Approved

Applicant: Stone Eagle Property Corporation

Purpose of the amendment

The purpose of the application is to permit the connection of an agricultural related use (winery) to a local sanitary sewer. The connection is for the proposed Stone Eagle Estate Winery at the northwest corner of Niven Road and Niagara Stone Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Background
- Recommendation Report: Niagara Official Plan Amendment, Stone Eagle Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake
ROPA 2 - Regional Road allowance widths
Status: Approved

Applicant: Region-initiated amendment

Purpose of the amendment

The purpose of the amendment is to update the road allowance widths listed in Schedule M of the Niagara Official Plan, and to add a new policy allowing right-of-ways to be updated based on an approved Municipal Class Environmental Assessment.

Background
- Recommendation Report, Regional Official Plan Amendment, Regional Road allowance widths
ROPA 3 - Proposed Port Colborne Quarry - Pit 3 expansion
Status: Approved

Applicant: Port Colborne Quarries Inc.

Purpose of the amendment

The purpose of the proposed amendment is to allow the expansion of the existing Port Colborne Quarry onto lands to the east of the existing Pit 3. The lands subject to the amendment are legally described as Part Lot 17, 18, 19, Concession 2, and located on the north side of Main Street East / Highway 3, south of Second Concession Road and west of Miller Road.

The applicant has also requested amendments to the City of Port Colborne Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit this use.

Submission materials
- See a list of the material submitted in support of the application
- Contact Regional planning staff to obtain a copy of any of the submissions material
Reports to Regional Council

To date, the following reports have been presented to Regional Council:
Public open house

Review questions and responses provided at the virtual open house on Sept. 9, 2021.

Statutory public meeting

See the public notice for the statutory public meeting for the proposed Regional Official Plan Amendment on March 8, 2023.

Joint Agency Review Team

Niagara Region, Port Colborne and Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority established a Joint Agency Review Team to coordinate the agency review process for the Port Colborne Quarries applications. The team worked together with the technical peer review consultants to review and consider all matters related to the Port Colborne Quarries applications.

The team does not make a recommendation on the applications. Rather, they provide a central point of contact for the review and issue a report once the review process is complete.

Review the Joint Agency Review Team Report and Joint Agency Review Team Report Appendices to see the application overview, technical review process summary, key identified issues and the public and stakeholder consultation process.
ROPA 4 - Proposed Law Quarry expansion, Wainfleet
Status: Under review

Applicant: Waterford Sand and Gravel Ltd.

Purpose of the amendment

The purpose of the application is to expand the existing Law Crushed Stone Quarry in Wainfleet.

The amendment affects lands legally described as Part of Lots 6 and 7, Concession 2 and Part of Road Allowance between Lots 5 and 6, Concession 2, Township of Wainfleet, Region of Niagara. The lands are generally north of Highway 3 between Graybiel Road and Biederman Road.

The applicant has also requested amendments to the Township of Wainfleet Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit this use. These amendments are also under review by the Township of Wainfleet.

Joint Agency Review Team

Niagara Region, Township of Wainfleet and Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority established a Joint Agency Review Team to coordinate the agency review process for the proposed law quarry extension applications. The team worked with the aggregate advisor and technical peer review consultants to review and consider all matters related to the applications.

The team acts as a central point of contact for the review and issues a report once the review process is complete. The team does not make recommendations on the applications.

To see the application overview, technical review process summary, key issues, and the public and stakeholder consultation process, review the Joint Agency Team Report.

List of documents submitted
Documents 18-28 and 65-69 are related to the archaeological assessments that were completed in support of the application. Email Planning and Development to review these documents.

These documents are designed with accessible features outlined in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 standards. However, parts of the documents may not be easy to use for people with limited vision, blindness, or mobility issues that make it hard to use a mouse. It also has some features that might not work well for everyone. If you need a document in a more accessible format or help understanding it, contact us.

2014 Consolidated Regional Official Plan amendments

File Number ROPA 21-0003 - Proposed Upper's Quarry, Niagara Falls
Status: Appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal on the basis of Regional Council's failure to make a decision on the ROPA application

Applicant: Walker Aggregates Inc.

Purpose of the amendment

The purpose of the application is to establish a new quarry on lands located along the western boundary of Niagara Falls, between Thorold Townline Road and Beechwood Road, north of a Hydro One corridor. The lands subject to the amendment are legally described as Part of Lots 119, 120, 136 and 137, City of Niagara Falls.

The applicant has also requested amendments to the City of Niagara Falls Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit this use, as well as processing of materials from the site, processing of recycled aggregate material, concrete or asphalt mixing plant and accessory buildings and structures. These amendments are also under review by the City of Niagara Falls.

Online public open house

An online open house was hosted by Niagara Region and the City of Niagara Falls planning staff on March 23, 2022 to allow members of the public to ask questions on the proposed amendments. See the proposed Upper's Quarry presentation.

Walker Aggregates and their consulting team were invited to the open house to help answer technical questions on their application. A matrix was prepared to respond to questions that were not answered live during the session. See the Upper's Quarry response matrix.

Statutory public meeting

Under the requirements of the Planning Act a Statutory Public Meeting for the ROPA application was held at the Region's Planning and Economic Development Committee on Oct. 11, 2023.

The purpose of the public meeting was for Regional Council to hear public comments and other input related to the proposed ROPA. Notice of the Upper's Quarry public meeting was provided under the requirements of the Planning Act. Planning staff gave a presentation of the Upper's Quarry and prepared the Upper's Quarry meeting report. Minutes for the Upper's Quarry public meeting were prepared following the meeting.

Joint Agency Review Team

Niagara Region, the City of Niagara Falls and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority established a Joint Agency Review Team to coordinate the agency review process for the proposed Uppers Quarry applications. The team worked together with an aggregate advisor and the third party technical peer review consultants to review and consider all matters related to the Uppers Quarry applications.

The Joint Agency Review Team does not make a recommendation on the applications. Rather, the Joint Agency Review Team provides a central point of contact for the review and issue a report once the review process is complete.

Review the Joint Agency Review Team Upper's Quarry Report, Upper's Quarry Appendices A-G and Upper's Quarry Appendix H to see the application overview, technical review process summary, key identified issues and the public and stakeholder consultation process.

Plain language summaries

The reports for the application contain complex information and technical language that might be difficult to understand.

To help with understanding this information, the consultants hired by the Joint Agency Review Team created three 'plain language summary' documents. These summaries explain the standards, methods, conclusions, recommendations and suggested solutions for each area in simple terms. See the Air Quality Plain Language Report, Noise Plain Language Report and Blasting Plain Language Report.

List of documents submitted
Documents 21-27 relate to the archaeological assessments done for the application. Email Planning and Development to review them.

These documents are designed with accessible features outlined in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 standards. However, parts of the documents may not be easy to use for people with limited vision, blindness, or mobility issues that make it hard to use a mouse. It also has some features that might not work well for everyone. If you need a document in a more accessible format or help understanding it, contact us.
File number ROPA 22-0002 - Proposed redesignation of unique agricultural lands, 502 Winston Rd., Grimsby
Status: Under review

Applicant: 502 Winston Road Inc.

Purpose of the amendment

The purpose of the application is to redesignate the subject lands from unique agricultural area to rural area.

The lands are located at the northeast corner of Hunter Road and Winston Road, municipally addressed as 502 Winston Rd., and legally described as Part of Lot 19 in Broken Front Concession, North Grimsby, Part 9 and 10 in 30R3352 save and except Part 1 in 30R14773, subject to an easement in gross over Part of Lot 19 of Broken Front Concession designated at Part 1 on 30R14772 as in NR421363 in Grimsby.

Background

The applicant has submitted the following information in support of the proposed amendment:
The applicant has also submitted an application to the Town of Grimsby for an amendment to their Official Plan (Town File No. 26OP-16-2202) to redesignate a portion of the subject lands from specialty crop area - tender fruits and grape lands to rural area. The existing natural hazard overlay and environmental protection area designation is to be maintained. The town will be processing the proposed Official Plan Amendment concurrent to the Regional Official Plan Amendment application.

Statutory public meeting

See the public notice for the statutory public meeting for the proposed Regional Official Plan Amendment on June 12, 2024.

Previous amendments listed within Appendix A of the Regional Official Plan have been incorporated as necessary into the 2022 Niagara Official Plan.

Regional Official Plan Amendments

Contact

2022 Niagara Official Plan amendments

2014 Consolidated Regional Official Plan amendments

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