The Town of Saugeen Shores is holding a Statutory Public Open House to share information and to receive public comments on the draft Port Elgin and Southampton Downtowns Community Planning Permit By-law and a related Amendment to the Town of Saugeen Shores Official Plan.
The meeting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday June 24th (2026) at the Powerlink Building (3rd Floor) in Port Elgin (Mary and Goderich Sts.) at 6:30 p.m.
According to ‘Engage Saugeen Shores‘ site, the purpose of the proposed Community Planning Permit (CPP) By-law (or Development Permit), is to create a set of development regulations for Port Elgin and Southampton Downtowns that would align with the vision of the Official Plan, support mixed-use development, and help to address housing needs.
Many residents in Southampton have expressed concerns that the “character and historic buildings and residences of the community’s downtown core area” may be changed with little to no public oversight.
The CPPS is designed to control land use development in the municipality and provides the discretion to determine the boundaries of the area that is to be governed by the community planning permit.
Under provincial regulations however, a community planning permit by-law is required before the Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) can be implemented. “After a community planning permit by-law is passed, privately-initiated applications to amend the community planning permit by-law are not permitted for five years, unless the municipality passes a resolution to allow these applications to proceed.”
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The Community Planning Permit is a land use planning tool that is to replace a standard multi-layered development approval process (zoning, site plan and minor variance), with a single process, previously known as the Development Permit System (a by-law passed under section 70.2 or 70.2.2 of Regulations re: development permits may refer to development permits as community planning permits.)
It also “… authorizes municipalities to be able to appoint employees to carry out the duties required under the development permit system and delegates to them the powers necessary to carry out these duties”.
“I am very worried about this,” said one resident who wished to remain anonymous. “It is taking away Council’s authority and handing it over to staff, which in turn takes away the public’s ability and right to be heard at Council about any proposed development.”
“The CPP By-law would replace the Town’s existing Zoning By-law and Site Plan Control By-law and become the Town’s primary tool for regulating development in these areas. The Community Planning Permit System (CPPS), as set out in the CPP By-law, is intended to streamline the development approvals process by combining zoning amendments, minor variances, and site plans into one application and review process. The proposed Official Plan Amendment would enable the CPP By-law to be established and provide policy guidance.” (Engage Saugeen Shores)
The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing may require municipalities to use the Community Planning Permit System in specified areas, such as around major transit stations for GO rail, light rail, bus rapid transit and subways and along main streets or waterfront areas. In these cases, only the Minister can appeal the official plan policies or community planning permit by-law to implement the tool.
