Planning Initiatives and Reports

On this page

  1. Peterborough's Housing Pledge
  2. Planning for the Future of our Strategic Growth Areas: Secondary Plan and Community Planning Permit System 
  3. Official Plan Implementation Strategy
  4. Streamline Development Approval Fund
  5. Development Approvals Review Findings Report
  6. Residential Monitoring Report

Housing Spectrum

Peterborough's Housing Pledge

Gauge chart of Peterborough's progress towards 2031 housing target

The Province's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing assigned the City of Peterborough with a housing target of 4,700 new homes by 2031. City Council has endorsed the City of Peterborough's Housing Pledge outlining the strategies and actions to facilitate the construction of 4,700 new housing units by 2031.

In 2023, the City exceeded its annual housing target of 345 units by 147%, for a total of 506 units. The City's annual targets for 2024 and 2025 are 392 units and 470 units, respectively (see table below).

City of Peterborough Municipal Housing Pledge

City of Peterborough Annual Housing Targets and Progress 2023-2025
YearAnnual Housing TargetAnnual Housing Progress (# units)Annual Housing Progress (%)
2023 345 506 147%
2024 (Jan-Oct) 392 233 59%
2025 470 - -

Table last updated: December 10, 2024

Planning for the Future of our Strategic Growth Areas: Secondary Plan and Community Planning Permit System 

The City of Peterborough is developing a Secondary Plan and Community Planning Permit System for the City’s Strategic Growth Areas. The City of Peterborough has identified seven (7) key Strategic Growth Areas that will be the focus of the Secondary Plan, which are: 

  1. Downtown Central Area
  2. Water Street North Corridor
  3. Chemong Road Corridor
  4. Clonsilla Avenue & Charlotte Street Corridor
  5. Lansdowne Street (West) Corridor
  6. Armour Road Corridor
  7. Lansdowne Street (East) Corridor

The Secondary Plan will establish the long‐term vision, built form, permissions, and priorities for growth. The Secondary Plan will be implemented using a new tool for the City, through a new Community Planning Permit By-law (CPP By-law).  This will provide the foundation needed to implement the vision by establishing development thresholds, criteria, community benefits and conditions that will be implemented through a CPP By‐law. This work was initiated through the completion of a Community Planning Permit System Background Review and Strategic Directions Report.

Visit ConnectPtbo for more information on the project and how to get involved.

Official Plan Implementation Strategy

The City’s new Official Plan includes a series of policy commitments and initiatives to support the achievement of the vision and objectives that guide the growth and development of the City.

The Official Plan Implementation Strategy is a high-level work plan that provides guidance and confirms priorities for the policy commitments of the Plan. It is intended to be updated each year to report on the City's progress on initiatives and targets.

Streamline Development Approvals Fund

The City undertook ten initiatives that make systemic changes to the City’s development approvals process, clear application backlog, and build both staff and developer capacity for efficient and trackable development approvals. The initiatives were funded by the Provincial Government through the Streamline Development Approvals Fund Grant Program.

The Program is a one-time financial tool intended to help Ontario’s 39 largest municipalities modernize, streamline and accelerate their processes for managing and approving development applications. The City of Peterborough has utilized this fund to undertake multiple projects and hire temporary staff and peer review consultants to achieve these objectives. The projects undertaken have established the rationale for additional staff to support development application review, will streamline development approvals with new standards and guidelines, and will modernize the City’s system for receiving, processing and tracking applications and for communicating with Applicants. 

Report IPGPL23-001 - Streamline Development Approval Funding Program Update

Development Approvals Review Findings Report

The City has undertaken a comprehensive review of the Development Approval Process to identify and examine opportunities for improvements. The objective is to develop more efficient and consistent processes and improve service delivery, both internally and externally.

The Development Approval Process review was funded by the Provincial Government through the Audit and Accountability Fund Grant Program.  The intent of the Audit and Accountability Fund Grant Program is to support Ontario municipalities that are committed to identifying and implementing service delivery efficiencies.  The program requires an impartial and objective third-party review to identify efficiencies. 

Development Approvals Process Review Report 

Technical Appendix A: City of Brantford - Delegation Report

Residential Monitoring Report

Through implementation policies of the Official Plan, an annual residential monitoring report was created to provide an update on the condition of the residential development in the City of Peterborough. The Residential Monitoring Report along with the Official Plan policies assists in review of development applications to fulfill the intent of the Official Plan. 

 Why Monitor?
The Residential Monitoring Report is a requirement set out by the Growth Plan to ensure growth occurs in line with the Provincial policy direction throughout the City. It is a tool that presents and analyzes residential development trends, specifically by focusing on: 
 Past Residential Monitoring Reports