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Oxford County

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Official Plan, By-Laws & Guidelines

Various County plans, by-laws and procedures/guidelines relevant to land use are listed here

Official Plan

The County of Oxford Official Plan

The contents of the Official Plan reflect the latest consolidation of Official Plan amendments, as of September 30, 2020. For up to date information on a specific property, please contact the Planner for the area municipality.

Studies, By-laws & Guidelines

Application Fees

Please check the current fee schedule prior to submission of your application.

Application Forms

Forms are available for the various types of development regulated by the Planning Act

When printing, please print all forms single-sided.

County of Oxford - Static Forms
County of Oxford - Online Forms
(Use these forms when completing them electronically using Adobe Acrobat/Reader)

Oxford County Woodland Conservation By-Law Form

Approval Authorities

The Area Municipalities are the approval authority for zoning by-law amendments, site plan control and minor variances.  Please choose the appropriate link from the Municipal map found here.

County of Oxford Official Plan

County-Wide Application Notices and Reports

All active development applications are listed here, along with their associated notices and reports

OP 16-04-9 - County of Oxford
Official Plan Amendment
General text amendments relating to municipal services
OP 15-08-9 - County of Oxford
Official Plan Amendment
County Development Strategy and Waste Management Policies
County-Wide
Official Plan - 5 Year Review
The County of Oxford in 2008 initiated a mandatory 5 year review of the County Official Plan. The Planning Act, RSO 1990, requires that a municipality revises its Official Plan a minimum of once every 5 years, as required to ensure that it conforms to Provincial Plans, has regard for matters of Provincial interest and is consistent with Provincial Policy Statements and that policies relating to areas of employment are confirmed or amended. The Planning Act requires that a special public meeting of Council be held to provide information on the 5 year Official Plan Review process and to receive public input. This meeting also served to initiate the Official Plan review process, which is anticipated to take approximately three years to complete. The geographic scope of the review includes all lands within Oxford County.

Development charges

A growing municipality requires investment in growth related infrastructure to service new development. Development charges are fees that are paid by new development to fund the capital cost of services constructed throughout the county. Development charges play an important part in how growth related infrastructure is financed. Each new or expanded residential and non-residential development requires increased municipal infrastructure and services in order to function efficiently and effectively. 

At least every five years, the County and its area municipalities conduct development charges background studies to forecast future residential and non-residential growth to determine infrastructure needs and costs.  This information is used to calculate the amount of money that new development needs to pay in order to cover the cost of new infrastructure and services.  

The County has a County-wide development charge that applies to the following County services:

  • Growth-Related Studies
  • Land Ambulance          
  • Roads
  • Waste Diversion  
  • Library – not applicable in the City of Woodstock

Water and wastewater development charges are area specific with a unique charge for each of the nine serviced areas. 

Development charges for area municipal services can be found on their respective municipal websites, depending in which area municipality that the development occurs.  

There are currently no education related development charges in Oxford County.

Links to additional information:
Development Charges Fact Sheet (Effective April 2021)
Development Charges Background Study - 2019
Development Charges Background Study - 2021
Development Charges Annual Report - 2020
Development Charges Annual Report - 2019

By-Laws

By-law / Amendment
6121-2019 / 6323-2021 County-Wide
6122-2019 / 6324-2021 Woodstock Water & Wastewater
6123-2019 / 6325-2021 Tillsonburg Water & Wastewater
6124-2019 / 6326-2021 Ingersoll Water & Wastewater
6125-2019 / 6327-2021 Tavistock Water & Wastewater
6126-2019 / 6328-2021 Norwich Water & Wastewater
6127-2019 / 6329-2021 Thamesford Water & Wastewater
6128-2019 / 6330-2021 Plattsville Water & Wastewater
6129-2019 / 6331-2021 Drumbo Water & Wastewater
6130-2019 / 6332-2021 Mt. Elgin Water & Wastewater

Notice of By-law ammendent