Q. Why is the City of Timmins conducting a Growth Management Study?
A. The City of Timmins has begun to experience increased development pressures to accommodate both residential (housing) and economic growth through the municipality. A Growth Management Study (GMS) has been initiated to address this. The GMS will help the City determine if there is appropriate land supply to meet growth demands within the specified planning period, forecasted to 2051. The City has retained Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. in association with J.L. Richards & Associates Ltd., to carry out this work.
Q. What kind of information is the City looking for?
A. To ensure the City of Timmins continues to plan for growth efficiency over the long-term, it is necessary to study the current population, economic demands and dwelling growth, and anticipated projections in regards to land needs through this comprehensive study process.
Recent and ongoing changes to the policy framework at the provincial level, including amendments to the Planning Act and the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS), have also introduced new planning concepts and permissions for municipalities to consider while developing policies.
Specifically, the Growth Management Study includes the following key objectives:
- Conduct a review of the City’s current Official Plan to be consistent and in conformity with current provincial legislation.
- Explore macro-economic factors, regional development trends, and local demographic trends anticipated to impact the amount, type, and location of the long-term population, housing, and employment growth potential for Timmins.
- Prepare defensible long-term population, housing, and employment growth forecasts to 2051 for the City of Timmins.
- Provide an assessment of future housing needs and options that may be developed within the City.
- Assess residential and non-residential (employment, industrial, and commercial) urban land supply opportunities within Timmins, in active development plans and identified intensification areas, and on vacant designated urban lands that currently have no active development applications.
- Review underutilized non-residential lands that may be developed or redeveloped for residential uses.
- Provide an allocation of growth by policy area (for example, greenfield areas, Intensification Areas, Employment Areas, and the remaining rural area).
- Prepare an urban land needs analysis to determine if the City of Timmins has a sufficient supply of residential land to accommodate forecast growth over the next 25 years.
- Develop a comprehensive and long-term review of the City’s designated commercial and Employment Area land needs.
- Review the agricultural lands within the City in order to determine whether there are any lands suitable for a prime agricultural area designation.
- Provide strategic policy recommendations that address the long-term management and monitoring of development/redevelopment across Timmins to help inform potential amendments to the City’s Official Plan.
As part of this, there is a robust community engagement piece built into the study, with the main objectives being as follows:
- Inform – provide objective information to ensure decision makers, staff, and the public are informed.
- Consult – obtain feedback and reflect on how feedback informs analysis and recommendations.
- Involve – work directly to ensure perspectives are understood, considered, and incorporated into the analysis.
Q. How will this study shape the City's plans for growth?
A. A key objective of the GMS is to update the population, housing, and employment forecasts for the City of Timmins to 2051, and conduct an urban residential and non-residential land needs analysis to determine if the City has a sufficient supply of designated land to accommodate forecasted demand over the plan horizon.
The Growth Management Study will also help inform the update of the City of Timmins Official Plan, approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in 2010.
Q. What is the study timeline?
A. The City of Timmins GMS has been divided into three phases:
- Phase 1: Review and Analysis - Project Initiation, Information Gathering and Research, and Development of Community Engagement Plan and Background Report – March to April 2025
- Phase 2: Preparation of the Draft Growth Management Study - Growth Trends Analysis, Identification of Opportunities to Accommodate Growth, and Development of Growth Forecasts and Land Needs Assessment – September 2025
- Phase 3: Refinement and Adoption – October to December 2025
Q. What is the benefit of the City undertaking an exercise like this?
A. This study will help ensure long-term economic and fiscal sustainability, as well as allowing Timmins to maximize opportunities to accommodate growth and strengthen industry and labour force attraction and retention.