Norfolk County is updating its Official Plan pursuant to Section 26 of the Planning Act. The primary purpose is to conform to the Provincial Policy Statement, to implement the recommendations of the GROW Norfolk Study and its related components and to complete the municipal comprehensive review. The proposed changes will help ensure that the County adequately plans for growth. The future amendment will apply County-wide.

Where to find more information? Information about the Grow Norfolk Study and supporting documents can be found here.

Can't make it in person? We understand that busy schedules mean that this date and time may not work for everyone. Following the live public information centre, a video recording and a copy of the presentation will be available here. You can also still contribute to this phase of the Grow Norfolk process by visiting the Grow Norfolk page on Engage Norfolk to access the materials and provide your feedback online. You can also provide written comment and pose questions by emailing staff at GrowNorfolk@norfolkcounty.ca or mailing the Planning Department at 185 Robinson Street, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, N3Y 5L6

User fees help Norfolk County to keep the cost of property taxes down by making sure that services which only a few people choose to use are not paid for by everyone.

Every year, we examine all of its user fees and the costs of providing services to see whether any changes are required. On January 1st, some fees are automatically modified to reflect the rate of inflation. Other fees are subject to vary based on Council's directives.

The 2024 User Fees are in place and can be viewed at  User Fees - NorfolkCounty.ca

Have you heard about CityView Portal? It's an online platform to apply for various types of Building Permits and Development Applications.

2023 saw significant advancements in application submissions and customer service. In addition to Building Permits, Development Applications for Land Use Planning matters are now available on Portal.  We encourage applicants to use this platform as it provides a convenient and easy way to self-serve code cases, apply for building permits, development applications, inspections, view status and more online, anytime, from anywhere.

Ahead of logging in you can watch the how-to video.

Check out CityView Portal here.  

In 2023, members of the Norfolk County Planning Department and Communications Departments worked to prepare a Planning 101 video series.

These videos feature Mayor Amy Martin and Planning staff speaking on a number of planning topics. Viewers will learn about the role of Norfolk County Council in Planning and Development decisions and get answers to some of the most common Planning-related questions Mayor Martin hears from residents, as well as the Official and Secondary Plan, Severances, Subdivisions and Condominiums and much more!

View the series here.

In November, Norfolk County hosted a Development Industry Session at Talbot Gardens in Simcoe. The session included a presentation from the Building, Planning, and Development Engineering teams, as well as an opportunity to network with fellow development professionals. If you didn’t make it out to the session, you can view the presentation here.

We hope to see you at the next session!

A formal awards program and event was held in 2023 that combined a number of categories of excellence to showcase new development, businesses and community champions. This included recognition for urban design, mixed use development, sustainability and climate change, innovation, partnerships and programs, cultural heritage, entrepreneurship, community champions, and more.

For more information on the event, click here. This program is biennial and staff are preparing for a 2025 event.

Our Building and Planning Departments are continuing to update their respective webpages to improve user experience. If you have feedback, we'd love to hear it. Please email: permits@norfolkcounty.ca or planning@norfolkcounty.ca