Official Plan Review

Let’s talk about Sustainability and Climate Change at Elizabeth Street Pumphouse (447 Elizabeth Street) on May 7th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

Town Talks aims to engage residents about key topics that will have an impact on the future of Grimsby and inform the Town’s Official Plan review. There will be an open question period for attendees to ask questions and share their views. Attending this series is free and does not require registration.

Speakers for this event include:

• Paul Mikoda, Ecologist at RV Anderson
• Matt de Witt, Stormwater Designer and Transportation Engineer at RV Anderson
• Suzanne Madder, Niagara Region Manager of Corporate Performance and Strategy
• Cameron Parkin, O2 Planning and Design Data Analytics and Design Lead and University of Waterloo Architecture Adjunct Professor

We hope to see you there!

Let’s keep the discussion going! An additional Town Talks Panel discussion has been planned in May.

The next Town Talks panel discussion will feature speakers with different backgrounds discussing sustainability and climate change as it relates to the official plan. There will be an open question period for attendees to ask questions and share their views. Attending this series is free and does not require registration.

Town Talks is a panel discussion series informing the Official Plan Review. These events aim to engage residents about key topics that will have an impact on the future of Grimsby.

The next Town Talks panel discussion is:

• Sustainability and Climate Change on May 7th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Elizabeth Street Pumphouse (447 Elizabeth St, Grimsby)

We hope to see you there!

The Policy Directions phase is just beginning.

Figure 1: Revised Official Plan Timeline

This phase will focus on getting your input on topics that will be included the Official Plan, such as housing, workplaces, neighbourhoods, transportation, the environment, and more.

Policy Direction reports about each of these topics are being rolled out. Right now, reports on Housing & Affordability and Work & Workplaces are all available under the Documents widget on the right side of this webpage. Stay tuned to letstalkgrimsby.ca/officialplan to read the other reports as they are released!

More opportunities to have your say are being planned. These include:

• Town Talks panel discussion series
• Pop-up events
• Surveys and polls available on this webpage

What does HOME look like in Grimsby? What’s the future of WORK? What makes a NEIGHBOURHOOD complete?

Let’s talk about the future of Grimsby at Town Talks!

Town Talks aims to engage residents about key topics that will have an impact on the future of Grimsby and contribute to the development of the Town’s Official Plan.

There will be an open question period for attendees to ask questions and share their views. Attending this series is free and does not require registration.

Housing and Affordability Panel Discussion

Join us at Town Hall (160 Livingston Avenue) on January 24^th at 6:00pm for the first Town Talks discussion panel about Housing and Affordability.

Speakers for this event include:

• Cameron Banach, Director of Housing Services /CEO of Niagara Regional Housing
• Jeffrey Sinclair, Homelessness Action Plan Advisor at Niagara Region
• Gabriel DeSantis, President of DeSantis Homes
• John van Nostrand, Founding Principal of SvN Architects and Planners
• Harold Madi, Grimsby’s Director of Planning and Building

Work and Workplaces Panel Discussion

Let’s talk about working in Grimsby at Southward Community Park Building (84 Mud Street West) on February 6^th at 6:00pm.

Speakers for this event include:

• Michelle Seaborn, Regional Councillor
• Rebecca Shelley, Executive Director of Grimsby & District Chamber of Commerce
• Nick Ciccone, Training Director at Liuna Local 837 Training Centre
• Frank Miele, Grimsby’s Economic Development Officer

Neighbourhoods Panel Discussion

The last panel discussion about Neighbourhoods will take place at the Peach King Centre Auditorium (162 Livingston Avenue) on February 8^th at 6:00pm. This event will also include a mapping activity!

Speakers for this event include:

• Wayne Mullins, President of the Grimsby Historical Society
• Mike Ripmeester, Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies at Brock University
• Bianca Verrecchia, Grimsby’s Intermediate Heritage Planner
• Sarah Sweeney, Grimsby’s Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture
• Harold Madi, Grimsby’s Director of Planning and Building

We hope to see you there!

Let’s talk about the future of Grimsby at Town Talks.

Town Talks is a panel discussion series featuring speakers with different professional backgrounds discussing Housing and Affordability, Work and Workplaces, and Neighbourhoods. There will be an open question period for attendees to ask questions and share their views. Attending this series is free and does not require registration.

Town Talks aims to engage residents about key topics that will have an impact on the future of Grimsby. The panel series will be complimented by a discussion papers that will be made available on this website.

Town Talks panel discussions include:

• Housing and Affordability - January 24^th at 6pm at Grimsby Town Hall (160 Livingston Avenue).
• Work and Workplaces - February 6^th at 6pm at Southward Community Park Building (84 Mud Street West).
• Neighbourhoods - February 8^th at 6pm at the Peach King Centre (162 Livingston Avenue). This event will also include a community mapping engagement activity.

In addition to panel conversations about these three topics, there will be a series of policy direction papers that will ask questions and seek input from the community. The Policy Direction phase will gather input and recommendations that will inform the draft of Grimsby’s Official Plan. The series of policy direction reports includes many additional topics and will be accessible through this webpage when they are complete.

The next phase of the Official Plan review will focus on specific topics including Housing and Affordability, Work and Workplaces, Neighbourhoods, and other subjects relevant to the Official Plan. This is called the Policy Direction phase.

As part of this phase of our Official Plan review, a panel discussion series called Town Talks will take place in January and early February. Town Talks will include speakers from different professional backgrounds discussing housing, work and workplaces, and neighbourhoods. Residents are invited to attend these sessions, ask questions, and share their views. All dates and locations for this series will be available on LetsTalkGrimsby.ca/officialplan in the New Year.

The Policy Direction phase aims to gather input and recommendations that will inform the first draft of Grimsby’s Official Plan.

Policy direction reports and information about the Town Talks panel discussions will be available on this site in the New Year.

The Visioning phase of Grimsby’s Official Plan Review is coming to a close.

During this phase we asked residents to share their big ideas as well as what they treasured, what they used most, and what has been missing in their community. We received your comments through pop up events, online surveys (closed November 20^th, 2023), the statutory Special Meeting of Council on October 24^th, 2023, and our email address grimsbyop@grimsby.ca.

Thank you for all your input!

Figure 1 - Timeline of the Official Plan Review project

A report detailing what we heard from you during the Visioning phase will be made available to the public when it is complete.

Visit the Official Plan Update Spaces in the Library or Town Hall!

You can now view updates regarding the Official Plan process in both Town Hall and the Public Library.

Figure 2 - Official Plan Update Space in the Grimsby Public Library Fireplace Lounge

Figure 3 - Photos of the Official Plan Update Space in Town Hall