Growth Management Strategy: Conversion Requests

As part of the ongoing Official Plan update, the City is inviting landowners to submit requests to redesignate lands within the Industrial and Logistics designation for staff consideration.

Context

Lands within the Industrial and Logistics Official Plan designation are an “employment area” under the 2024 Provincial Planning Statement.

The Council-approved 2026 Zoning By-law (By-law No. 2026-50) revised the permitted uses for lands within employment areas, which include the Industrial and Logistics designation in the City of Ottawa Official Plan, to reflect restrictions on permitted employment area uses in the 2024 Provincial Planning Statement. Buildings and structures which are lawfully used for purposes that are no longer permitted by their zoning are entitled to legal non-conforming rights, which authorizes them to continue to be used for that purpose. Property owners may request that employment area lands be redesignated if they wish to establish a new land use that is not currently permitted. The City against assesses these requests against the policies of the Official Plan and Provincial Planning Statement to determine whether the proposed land use is appropriate for the site.

Requests to consider Industrial redesignations

Landowner requests for staff to consider redesignation of their lands within the Industrial and Logistics designation must be submitted by email to op@ottawa.ca no later than September 2, 2026. Staff will confirm receipt and will follow up with landowners where additional information or clarification is required.

The submission of a request does not guarantee that conversion of the lands will be recommended by staff. Should landowners wish to submit a formal Official Plan Amendment application for the redesignation of their lands, they may do so through the development application process.

Information to include with your request

Requests for redesignation of industrial and logistics lands should include the following information:

• The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the landowner and agent acting on behalf of the landowner
• A legal description of the lands to which the request applies
• The area of each parcel in hectares
• Property survey(s) for the lands
• The current zoning for the lands
• A description of any existing land uses on-site
• A description of any existing land uses on surrounding sites
• The proposed use(s) should the lands be redesignated, and a proposed Official Plan designation
• Existing on-site water and wastewater infrastructure
• Any information that could support staff in their evaluation of the lands according to the following criteria:

Evaluation criteria

Staff will evaluate requests using the following criteria, informed by the Official Plan policies under section 3.5, and section 2.8.2 of the Provincial Planning Statement. Staff request that any submissions address the following, with an emphasis on the need for the proposed conversion in the context of an identified deficiency in the amount of industrial lands in Ottawa over the new growth horizon to 2051 established through the growth management review of the Official Plan:

• Need: whether the proposed uses cannot reasonably locate in a more suitable location within the appropriate service area for the use.
• Suitability: whether the lands are suitable for the proposed uses and are not suitable for the Industrial and Logistics designation.
• Compatibility: whether proposed uses are compatible with any surrounding sensitive land uses and how the proposed conversion would avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts on the long-term economic viability of the remaining land within the Industrial and Logistics designation.
• Supply: following review of the need, suitability and compatibility, consideration of all conversion requests in the context of remaining available lands necessary to satisfy the growth management need for industrial land, of appropriate configurations and in necessary locations

Submission deadline

Submit requests to OP@ottawa.ca by September 2, 2026. Parcels recommended for conversion from Industrial and logistics designations by staff will be brought to City Council for consideration in early 2027.