Employment Areas Review

• The Town released a Background Facts Report in June 2025. Read the Employment Areas Review - Background Facts Report (pdf) or the quick-read version, Employment Areas Review - Background Facts Report Graphic Summary (pdf).
• The Town hosted a series of interested party engagement sessions and a digital survey for informational purposes and to gather initial comments on the study process. 

• Financial and Market Analysis Technical Report, July 2025 (pdf)
• Options and Directions for Land Use Approaches Technical Report, October 2025 (pdf)

On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, Town Council passed by-laws 2024-143, 2024-244 and 2024-145, which adopted Official Plan Amendments 068, 332 as modified, and 333, respectively.  The purpose of the OPAs is to preserve the town’s protected employment areas pending completion of an employment area review. The review will inform how the town will implement the new provincial direction regarding employment areas.

Without the OPAs as proposed, the town’s employment areas could be reduced, impacting the town’s long-term employment land needs.

Draft OPAs 

• Draft Official Plan Amendment 68 (Livable Oakville) (pdf)
• Draft Official Plan Amendment 332 (North Oakville East Secondary Plan) (pdf)
• Draft Official Plan Amendment 333 (North Oakville West Secondary Plan) (pdf)

The OPAs, as adopted, will do the following: 

• Restrict uses in the official plan policies that do not meet the new provincial definition for “area of employment”;
• Allow all lands in the town’s employment areas to continue as an “area of employment” even if there are uses that are not included in the new provincial definition, so long as those uses were established before October 20, 2024;
• Allow the town to continue to review requests to convert lands within employment areas to a different land use designation through a comprehensive process that applies the tests under Section 2.8.2.5 of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024; 
• Make sure that Council’s decision on requests to convert lands within employment areas to a different land use designation continue to be final, meaning they may not be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal; 
• Preserve the town’s employment areas as protected so that the town has time to complete an employment area review to determine the best location for the town’s employment areas and only allow the reduction of the town’s employment areas through a comprehensive process;
• Allow the town to have regard in its long- and short-term planning decisions to provincial interests related to employment, economic development and growth management; and
• Ensure that the town’s employment areas that connect to employment areas within neighbouring municipalities (Burlington, Mississauga and Milton) remain protected and any changes in land use are based on a review that is comprehensive and coordinated with those municipalities.

The proposed policies will apply to the town’s employment areas within:

• Lands in the Employment Area designations of Office Employment, Business Employment, Industrial and Business Commercial in the Livable Oakville Plan
• Lands designated as Employment District in the North Oakville East and West Secondary Plans

These employment areas include land:

• South of Highway 407
• West and east of Highway 403
• North and south of the Queen Elizabeth Way
• North and south of Royal Windsor Drive
• Review the Urban Structure Map (pdf). Employment Areas are identified in blue.

OPA appeals

Official Plan Amendments 68 (Livable Oakville Plan), 332 (North Oakville East Secondary Plan) and 333 (North Oakville West Secondary Plan) have been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.