Official Plan Housing Policies

The Town is updating its Official Plan policies in regard to housing.

A staff report and draft Official Plan policies were presented to Planning and Development Council on September 8, 2025. The draft policies consider and respond to provincial and regional planning documents, and are informed by the Town’s Housing Strategy and Action Plan, and completed Housing Needs Assessment. These updates are being coordinated with the town’s broader Official Plan Review. 

About the Policies

Draft Official Plan Housing Policies

The Livable Oakville Plan currently does not have a dedicated housing policy section. Instead, it relies on the Town’s residential land use designation policies to speak to housing matters. 

Historically, housing policies have been maintained in the Halton Region Official Plan. However, as of July 1, 2024, the Halton Region Official Plan is no longer a regional plan and is now a local Official Plan. As part of the broader Official Plan Review, it is the intent to consolidate the Halton Region Official Plan with the Livable Oakville Plan under one plan. The Halton Region Official Plan has housing policies which are to be incorporated into the Livable Oakville Plan, as applicable.

The primary policy changes considers a new general policy section specific to housing in Part C, Section 7 Housing, in the Livable Oakville Plan. 

Part C in the Livable Oakville Plan contains general objectives and policies to direct growth and development decisions in the town. This section provides policies to manage growth and development in a sustainable manner. 

The new Section 7 Housing includes updated and new housing objectives, as well as policies that respond to the objectives under the following headings:

• Supporting Housing Supply and Growth Management
• Development Livable Complete Communities
• Enhancing Housing Choice
• Encouraging and Protecting Rental Housing
• Supporting Affordability
• Enabling Process Improvements
• Engagement and Collaboration 

Many of the objectives in the new Section 7 Housing are moved from the current Part D Section 11 Residential land use policies, which are specific only to residential land use designations. The purpose of moving these policies into a general housing section in Part C is that the housing policies will apply to all land use designations across the town which permit housing, such as residential, mixed use, and some commercially designated properties, as applicable. 

Additional changes are made to Part D Section 11 Residential, which moves policies into the new Section 7 which are not specific to a permitted use in the residential land use designation, and are more appropriate in a town-wide general policy section in Part C. 

Policies in Section 11 Residential, which are in place to maintain, protect, and enhance the character of existing Residential Areas, are maintained in full. 

New and revised definitions are also proposed to be added to the Plan which are consistent with the PPS 2024.