Official Plan, Zoning By-law, and CIP Review

The City of Kenora is reassessing the current Official Plan, Zoning By-law, and Community Improvement Plans. The review process will result in three new strategic development documents that will help to address many community priorities.

Public Open House

A Public Open House was held on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at the Lake of the Woods Discovery Centre, 931 Lakeview Drive, Kenora.

This Public Open House was a come-and-go format, including:

Presentation boards by the project consultant, WSP, which will provide an overview of the project process, work plan, and community engagement program; and

Visioning activities on the City’s future development and planning issues that will be considered as part of the Official Plan, Zoning By-law, and Community Improvement Plan Reviews.

The Public Open House provided an opportunity for residents and other interested individuals and groups to learn more about and get involved in the Official Plan, Zoning By-law, and Community Improvement Plan Reviews by providing preliminary input.

View Display Boards from March 5 Open House

Two draft background reports have been prepared in support of the Reviews. View the draft reports:

Draft Official Plan and Zoning By-law Background Report (February 2025)

Draft Community Improvement Plan Background Report (February 2025)

Take the Community Survey

An online community survey on key policy and zoning issues was launched on March 5, 2025. The input received at the Public Open House and through the online Community Survey will inform preparation of the Final Background Reports this Spring 2025.

Your input matters! Take the Community Survey!

Survey deadline is March 28, 2025.

We encourage you to share this survey with your friends, family, and neighbours to ensure we hear from a diverse group.

Paper copies of the Community Survey are available at City Hall and the Kenora Public Library.

If you own a business or property and wish to participate in the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) Survey, please email us at surveys@kenora.ca.

Official Plan and Zoning By-law Review

The City has started the review of its Official Plan and Zoning By-law with help from consultants WSP and metro economics. This process will create new versions of both documents.

The objectives and policies of the Official Plan and the requirements of the Zoning By-law intend to achieve a balanced approach to addressing the issues of land development, economic development, and the management of land uses, infrastructure, and resources affecting the City.

The City’s current Official Plan and Zoning By-law were approved in 2015. A review and update of the Official Plan must be done regularly to ensure its objectives and policies stay relevant and meet all legal requirements, including the Planning Act and the Provincial Planning Statement of 2024. The Zoning By-law must be updated also to match the new Official Plan.

City Council will adopt the new Official Plan and then it will be sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval. Once the Official Plan is approved, Council will then adopt the new Zoning By-law. The Official Plan and Zoning By-law review is expected to be completed in 2026. View the process and timeline for the review:

Phase 1 - project initiation and pre-consultation, fall 2024
Phase 2 - background review and policy recommendations, fall 2024 to winter 2025
- Stay tuned for announcements about open houses and surveys
Phase 3 - draft Official Plan and Zoning By-law, winter to fall 2025
- Watch for engagement opportunities, such as public meetings
Phase 4 - final Official Plan, winter to spring 2026
Phase 5 - final Zoning By-law, summer 2026

What is an Official Plan?

The Official Plan sets out the vision, goals, objectives, and policies for growth and development within the City within a specified planning horizon. An Official Plan is the cornerstone for decision-making related to land use and development, and must be kept current to reflect the vision and goals the community is trying to achieve. The City of Kenora’s new Official Plan will provide land use policy and direction for the next 25 years, to the year 2051.

An Official Plan helps to ensure:

Compatibility of neighbouring land uses (e.g., residential, commercial, employment, parks and open space);
An appropriate mix and amount of development;
Effective management and/or protection of natural resources;
Protection and preservation cultural heritage resources;
Cost-effective and timely delivery of infrastructure and municipal services;
Protection of surface and groundwater; and
Sustainable economic and community growth.

Specific policies in each of these areas provide direction on how development should occur. The Official Plan also includes a series of Schedules (i.e., maps) that identify land use designations where specific existing and future land uses are permitted.

What is a Zoning By-law?

A Zoning By-law is a legal document and planning tool which implements the policies of the Official Plan by establishing and assigning various Zones to all properties in the City. It also establishes standards that regulate land uses and how a property may be developed within each Zone.

A Zoning By-law also establishes:

A series of Schedules (i.e., maps) that illustrate the location of Zones across the City;
Detailed standards such as lot size, lot coverage, and setbacks which determine where buildings and structures can be located on a property; and
General provisions for specific land uses such as accessory buildings and structures, home businesses and home industries, and special setbacks for development adjacent to watercourses and waterbodies, railway corridors, and other features.
Other development requirements, such as those related to building height, parking, and landscaping.

Zoning helps to avoid or reduce land use conflicts between incompatible land uses by prescribing the types of uses that are permitted in specific areas. Zoning can also be used to protect or enhance the character of a community or area through development standards.

Community Improvement Plan (CIP) Review

Along with the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Review, the City has started a review of the three existing Community Improvement Plans (CIPs) for Harbourtown Centre, Keewatin, and the Former Mill Site. With assistance from its consultant WSP, the City intends to replace the existing CIPs with a single, integrated CIP for the entire City of Kenora.

The new CIP will contain expanded and enhanced financial incentive programs, with an added focus on fostering housing development opportunities and providing related incentives across the City.

We will also review the extent and boundaries of the existing Community Improvement Project Areas (CIPAs) where the existing CIPs and their financial incentive programs currently apply. The assessment will ensure that the tools and incentives available through the new CIP support development are in the right locations.

City Council will adopt the new Community Improvement Plan and is anticipated to be completed in the summer of 2025. View the timeline and process for the CIP review:

Phase 1 - project initiation and pre-consultation, fall 2024
Phase 2 - background review and recommendations, fall 2024 to winter 2025
- Stay tuned for announcements about open houses and surveys
Phase 3 - draft or final Community Improvement Plan, winter to spring 2025
- Watch for engagement opportunities, such as public meetings

Timeline graphic showing engagement milestones, phases in red dots, milestones in blue rectangles.

What is a Community Improvement Plan (CIP)?

A Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is a planning and economic development tool under Section 28 of the Planning Act that municipalities can prepare to promote community revitalization and beautification, and to help achieve economic, community planning, and development goals.

CIPs are intended to encourage investment by helping private property owners to offset the costs of their development, redevelopment, and property improvement projects through a series of Financial Incentive Programs.

How can my property or business benefit from the CIP?

The CIP will contain a series of Financial Incentive Programs, such as grants and municipal fee reductions, that will be available to property owners, existing and future business owners, and tenants (with the property owner’s permission) for proposed improvement projects that meet the general and program-specific eligibility requirements that will be outlined in the CIP.

Will my property or business be eligible for Financial Incentive Programs under the new CIP?

The CIP will apply to all private properties located within the boundaries of the Community Improvement Project Area (CIPA). At this time, the boundaries of the CIPA are expected to include all of the City of Kenora.

Get involved in the Reviews

Throughout the Review process, there will be many opportunities to provide input and participate in in-person, online, and hybrid engagement events!

Stay tuned for future community engagement opportunities, like an upcoming Community Survey.

Your input is needed to help establish a common vision and make sure that vision is clearly represented in new documents. Your feedback will shape the objectives and policies of the Official Plan, the requirements of the Zoning By-law, and the financial incentive programs of the CIP.

Residents, business owners, and organizations have valuable information to share in this process, such as:

Are you thinking about subdividing or developing your land?

Are you interested in adding an additional dwelling unit (i.e., secondary dwelling unit), like a basement or upper-storey apartment, to your property?

Do you think there is a need for more diverse housing options in the City?

Do you wish you had improved access to businesses and services?

Would you like to see more greenspaces and trails in your community?

Are you concerned about protecting natural areas?
Where should the City invest in municipally-led improvements, like streetscaping and infrastructure?

We will be holding a Public Open House in Winter 2025 to introduce the Official Plan, Zoning By-law, and Community Improvement Plan Review to the community, and present the two Draft Background Reports being completed as part of the project.

Project contacts

Stay updated on the project's progress by signing up for the project email list at surveys@kenora.ca.

For further information or to submit your comments and questions about the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Review, please contact Janis Pochailo, RPP, MCIP, Director of Planning and Building Services, City of Kenora, 807-467-2192 or jpochailo@kenora.ca.

For further information or to submit your comments and questions about the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) Review, please contact Stace Gander, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, City of Kenora, 807-467-4655 or sgander@kenora.ca.

Planning framework

View the planning framework to become familiar with the Provincial and Municipal responsibilities of the planning function.

Planning framework
Provincial, general, high-level	Municipal, detailed, site-specific
Planning Act - Provincial legislation that sets ground rules for land use planning in Ontario.	City of Kenora Official Plan - provides policies for matter of provincial interest, that all municipalities must be consistent with.
Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 - provides policies for matters of provincial interest, that all municipalities must be consistent with.	City of Kenora Zoning By-law - Implements the Official Plan and set out permitted uses and performance standards (e.g., setbacks, building heights) for each Zone.
	City of Kenora Community Improvement Plan - planning and economic development tool to promote community revitalization.

Coloured chart of Provincial and Municipal responsibilities within the Planning Function