A New Official Plan

The City is rewriting its Official Plan- the strategic document that describes how the city will grow over time, where we will place major infrastructure, and what policies will be in place to support economic growth and guide the development and evolution of communities. The purpose of this review is to position Ottawa to be flexible, resilient, and, above all, a city where people want to live, work, and play.

Preliminary Policy Directions

The City is proposing to make a number of significant policy changes through the Official Plan to make Ottawa the most liveable mid sized city in North America. Known as the ‘Five Big Moves’, the following statements capture the most significant policy proposals for the new Official Plan:

1. Growth: Achieve, by the end of its planning period, more growth by intensification than by greenfield development. This growth will provide a variety of affordable housing options for residents.

2. Mobility: By 2046, the majority of trips in the City of Ottawa will be made by sustainable transportation.

3. Urban Design: Improve our sophistication in urban and community design, and put this knowledge to the service of good urbanism at all scales, from the largest to the very small.

4. Resiliency: Embed public health, environmental, climate and energy resiliency into the framework of our planning policies.

5. Economy: Embed economic development into the framework of our planning policies.

Read the full 5 Big Moves report here.