Hawkesbury 2046: A New Official Plan to Guide the Town’s Future Growth

How should Hawkesbury grow over the next 20 years? Where will new housing go? How will transportation, infrastructure and employment needs evolve as the community changes?

These are some of the questions that will be addressed through Hawkesbury 2046, the Town’s new Official Plan process.

At its April 14, 2025 meeting, Hawkesbury Town Council received a report from Fotenn Planning + Design recommending that the Town begin preparing a new Official Plan with a planning horizon extending to 2046.

While an Official Plan may sound like a technical planning document, it is one of the most important tools a municipality has to shape its long-term development.

Why Does Hawkesbury Need a New Official Plan?

Hawkesbury’s current Official Plan was approved by the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) on April 27, 2010.

A lot has changed since then.

The UCPR adopted a new Official Plan that came into effect on July 8, 2023, and Ontario introduced a new Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) in 2024.

Under Ontario’s Planning Act, Hawkesbury’s Official Plan must conform with the upper-tier Official Plan and be consistent with provincial planning policies.

Rather than simply amending the existing document, Fotenn recommended creating an entirely new Official Plan. This means reviewing existing policies, land-use designations and mapping while retaining elements of the current plan that continue to work well.

“This is much more than updating a planning document. We are making decisions about what we want Hawkesbury to look like 10 or 20 years from now. We need clear goals for growth and a plan that can turn that potential into results.” — Simon Guindon

Hawkesbury’s Growth Must Happen Within Its Existing Boundaries

One of the most important elements of the report concerns where Hawkesbury can grow.

The entire Town is already considered a designated settlement area, meaning there are no surrounding rural lands within Hawkesbury’s municipal boundaries available for expansion.

As a result, future growth will have to occur within the Town’s existing boundaries.

The report identifies two primary ways to accommodate that growth: developing available greenfield sites and increasing intensification within already developed areas.

Fotenn will also prepare new population and employment projections using direction from the UCPR Official Plan and Ontario population projections published by the Ministry of Finance.

The planning framework must ensure that Hawkesbury has enough designated and available land to accommodate at least 15 years of residential growth, as required by the Provincial Planning Statement.

“Hawkesbury cannot simply expand outward forever. That means we have to be smarter about how we use the land and infrastructure we already have. I would like to see higher density for the PPG vacant land than what has been proposed .” — Simon Guindon

Housing, Transportation and Infrastructure Will Be Part of the Review

The Hawkesbury 2046 process will look beyond where new homes can be built.

Fotenn will evaluate the Town’s land, transportation and infrastructure needs as part of the new planning framework.

This is particularly important because growth creates demands beyond housing. More residents can mean additional pressure on roads, water and sewer infrastructure, municipal services and transportation networks.

At the same time, population growth can help support local businesses, attract investment and expand the municipal tax base.

The challenge will be ensuring that land-use decisions and infrastructure planning work together.

“Growth should be measurable. If we want more residents and investment in Hawkesbury, we also need to understand what infrastructure will be required to support that growth and establish clear priorities to make it happen.” — Simon Guindon

Residents Will Have Opportunities to Participate

Public consultation is part of the Official Plan process.

According to the report, residents and stakeholders will have opportunities to provide feedback as the plan develops, including through a Public Open House.

At the time of the April report, a Special Public Meeting was proposed for June 23, 2025. Its purpose was to present findings from the Official Plan Background Report, formally introduce the project, discuss potential changes to existing policies and allow the public to provide feedback.

This public participation is important because decisions made through an Official Plan can influence development patterns for many years.

A Draft Was Expected in Late 2025

The work plan presented to Council anticipated a draft Official Plan in late 2025.

That draft would then proceed through technical circulation and the consultation requirements established under the Planning Act.

According to the schedule presented in April 2025, the new Official Plan was expected to return to Council for adoption in winter or spring 2026.

The report also confirms that funding for Fotenn’s planning services had already been allocated under the consultant contract and established work plan.

What You Need to Know

• Hawkesbury’s existing Official Plan dates back to 2010.
• The Town is preparing a completely new plan with a horizon extending to 2046.
• Future growth must occur within Hawkesbury’s existing municipal boundaries through greenfield development and intensification.
• Population, employment, housing, transportation and infrastructure needs will all help shape the new plan.
• Residents and stakeholders will have opportunities to participate in the planning process.

Planning Hawkesbury’s Next 20 Years

Hawkesbury 2046 represents an opportunity to establish a clearer vision for how the community should develop over the next two decades.

The final Official Plan will not build new homes, repair roads or attract businesses by itself. What it can do is establish the framework that determines where development can happen and how Hawkesbury prepares for future growth.

For residents, this is therefore a municipal process worth following. The choices made today about land, housing, infrastructure and development could help shape what Hawkesbury looks like in 2046.