Rural Villages and Rural Vitality
Official Plan Amendment 28
After the amalgamation of Pakenham, Ramsay and Almonte, a new Community Official Plan was created (approved in 2006) to reflect the uniqueness of the different areas including the agricultural and rural areas and rural villages of each (former) Municipality.
Since 2006, there have been many changes in Mississippi Mills. Inter-provincial migration, changes in the agricultural sector, a COVID-induced real estate market, Provincial planning changes and a housing affordability/supply crisis have all had effects on the rural and agricultural areas of the Municipality. The effective management of growth and change is the upmost importance to ensure the social, economic and environmental viability of a municipality.
With a changing rural and agricultural landscape, updated population projections anticipated from Lanark County, and a focus on the viability of rural areas and villages, there is a need to ensure that the Official Plan and Zoning By-law are up to date with current planning trends and reflect the most current best practices to support one of the backbones of Mississippi Mills - its Rural Villages and Rural Vitality.
The documents below are the proposed amendments that have been incorporated into the current Community Official Plan through OPA 28. These draft amendments are currently available for comment, with recommendations being presented to the Committee of the Whole in January 2026.
The Municipality is putting together an inventory of existing commercial uses in theses areas as part of Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 28, the Rural Villages and Rural Vitality project. This initiative will help the Municipality gain a better understanding of the types of businesses that currently exist, their locations, and how we can adapt municipal plans and polices to remove barriers and foster sustainable economic growth. The businesses we are interested in are the typical bricks and mortar type businesses and also smaller businesses such as home offices and home-based businesses.
The survey consists of four (4) questions with an estimated completion time of 2 minutes. The survey is anonymous, and information collected will solely be used for the purposes of OPA 28, it will not be used to assess zoning compliance of individual businesses.
April 2025 PIC Information Boards:
RURAL VITALITY
This project aims to preserve and enhance the rural landscape while also fostering sustainable economic development and community well-being. Through a collaborative process involving local community members, the Municipality is aiming to address key issues such as land use, infrastructure, environmental conservation, and cultural heritage.
RURAL VILLAGES
Villages derive their character for their rural charm and small scale, which the Municipality can support by ensuring that these areas are planned and maintained with the intention of preserving this character while accommodating for the needs of the local, growing community.
Appleton, Blakeney, Clayton and Pakenham Villages are all valuable areas of Mississippi Mills and the community. These Villages are important places of community, culture, and growth. There is a need to conduct thorough assessment of the current conditions, needs, opportunities, and constraints of the Rural Villages
SPECIAL RURAL USES
There are many non-farm, non-residential uses that are often proposed in rural areas because of the need for large areas of land, separation from residential uses, or co-location criteria specific to the use. Examples include battery energy storage systems, solar and wind farms, shooting ranges (both commercial and personal) and commercial-based recreation activities such as paintball fields, driving ranges and dirt bike tracks. A review of the existing commercial and tourist commercial rural policies will be completed to ensure the appropriate Official Plan policies are in place to evaluate any of these types of uses in the rural areas of the Municipality.
For more detailed information, please have a look at the Rural Villages and Rural Vitality Project Framework
Are you interested in reading more about this topic? Check out these useful links:
Rural Ontario Facts - Seniors Factsheet
Rural Ontario Institute Knowledge Centre
Development Services and Engineering
Click on a button below to visit the other departmental webpages under the Development Services and Engineering department:
Sign up to our newsfeed
Stay up to date on the municipality's activities, events, programs and operations by subscribing to our daily news digest