Veronica Charrois

06/02/2026

Update: Official Plan

I'm happy to report that Council unanimously supported two positive motions at last night's Special Council Meeting on the third draft of Grimsby's updated Official Plan.

The first motion directs that building heights be limited to no more than 4 storeys on Main Street and no more than 6 storeys elsewhere within the Downtown District, with staff to provide details on any implications of those changes in the final recommendation.

Council also unanimously directed staff to further review building heights within the downtown employment areas, as well as the PMTSA and downtown employment areas.

Next steps:

Public feedback on the draft Official Plan will continue to be accepted until June 15 at 4:30 p.m. Staff will then prepare the final version of the Plan, which is expected to return to Council for consideration and adoption on July 13, 2026.

To review the draft Official Plan, background materials, or submit comments:
https://www.letstalkgrimsby.ca/officialplan

To watch the meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/live/N_6OXHYVRFk?si=o75mLWP6JThlPOBk

About the Official Plan Review Project The Town of Grimsby is reviewing its Official Plan (OP). This plan will guide the growth and development for the Town of Grimsby from now to 2051, and is a key building block for how our community will be shaped over time. The

06/01/2026

ICYMI: Official Plan

Just a reminder for those interested, Council will be holding a Special Meeting this evening to receive the Town’s third draft of the updated Official Plan.

Public feedback on the draft will be accepted until June 25th.

Following this consultation period, the final version of the Official Plan is expected to return to Council on July 13th for consideration of adoption.

For additional information, including previous drafts and key timelines, please refer to the link provided on LetsTalkGrimsby.

📢 Upcoming Council Meeting – Monday, June 1 @ 5:30 p.m.

Join us for the next Grimsby Special Council Meeting, where the Revised Draft Official Plan will be presented.

Members of the public are invited to share their thoughts by delegating at the meeting. To delegate, please complete the form available here: https://eforms.grimsby.ca/Delegation-request-form .

Delegation requests must be submitted 24 hours prior to the start of the meeting (5:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 31).

📜 Check out the full agenda now: https://pub-grimsby.escribemeetings.com

📺 Watch the meeting live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

🏛 Attend the meeting in person: Grimsby Town Hall (160 Livingston Ave)

Stay informed & engaged!

05/31/2026

📷 Morrison Park last week

We really do live in one of the most beautiful communities in Ontario.

05/28/2026

Good morning Neighbours! ☀️

Just wanted to share a few shout outs for some great things happening around town lately….

The Grimsby Public Library continues to have lots going on for residents of all ages, including their upcoming Summer Reading Kickoff on June 6th (follow their page for details on upcoming events and programs).

Also worth mentioning, Pathstone Mental Health continues to offer free supports for children, youth, and families right within the library, providing important services close to home.

A HUGE shout out as well to Harmony Jewellers Ltd. for reaching an incredible milestone through their Shine On campaign, raising $1,000,000 😳 🙌 in support of our local campus of care. Those funds are helping support McNally House Hospice and the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital Foundation, including expanded hospice services and important hospital priorities within our community. Thank you to Harmony Jewellers and to all of the generous community members who donated jewellery or purchased items in support of this important cause.

And lastly, congratulations Reflections Photo on the opening of their new studio in Grimsby-on-the-Lake. A beloved local newborn and family photography business expanding their presence — a beautiful addition to our growing waterfront community.

Lots of positive things happening throughout the community and always nice to see people giving back and supporting one another. It’s a reflection of why “Friendly by Nature” will always be part of who we are. ❤️

05/27/2026

Sharing an opinion piece published today by the Editor of our local paper, NewsNow, regarding the Woolverton development application.

Mr. Williscraft stated that opposition to this proposal came from “a handful of self-interest motivated election candidates” and that “most realize, council had no option and did the right thing for the municipality.”

Respectfully, I disagree.

Even before being elected to council, I delegated as a resident in opposition to this application. As a councillor, throughout this process, the majority of feedback I heard from residents was opposition — not support. Many residents attended meetings, reached out to council members, submitted comments, and voiced concerns about the impact this development could have on our community.

My vote reflected what I believed to be the concerns and views of a significant portion of our community.

05/25/2026

The timeline for the Envision Grimsby 2051 Official Plan Review has been updated to allow for additional review and public input on the next revised draft.

A third version of the Draft Official Plan will be presented to Council on June 1, 2026, providing another opportunity for residents, business owners, and interested parties to delegate.

Those wishing to delegate must submit a delegation request form no later than 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, 2026.

Read the full update, access the delegation form, and learn more about the project here: www.letstalkgrimsby.ca/officialplan

05/25/2026

Update #2:

Providing another update received from Town Staff this afternoon regarding the Official Plan and recommendation report which was originally expected to come before Council on June 1st.
This is now expected to come July 13th.
Staff will be releasing a third draft of the OP this week and further communication of the changes. I will share the Official Town Communication of the OP changes and next steps, once it is released. Thank you.
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Update: Official Plan Process

Good morning Neighbours,

I wanted to provide a brief update on Grimsby’s Official Plan process. As many residents are aware, work on drafting Grimsby’s new Official Plan began in 2023. The plan remains in draft form and is expected to come before Council for final approval next week.

For anyone interested in reviewing the process, draft documents, reports, and background information, I encourage you to visit the Let’s Talk Grimsby page.

At last week’s Planning and Development Committee meeting, the committee heard a delegation from the Cornerstone Association of Realtors, representing 7,500 members from Niagara and surrounding areas.

The delegation focused primarily on policies related to “gentle density,” which refers to housing forms such as duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, basement apartments, laneway suites, and accessory dwelling units within existing neighbourhoods.

Cornerstone brought forward five recommendations for Council’s consideration, including zoning reforms, reducing parking requirements, incentives for accessory dwelling units, changes to development charges, and expanded utility servicing for higher-density residential projects.

Throughout the Official Plan process, Council has heard from all parties, including residents, community members, businesses, and representatives from the development industry and other stakeholder groups (including the provincial government).

While it is important that Council continues to hear all perspectives throughout this process, my position remains that Grimsby’s growth must be carefully managed, infrastructure-supported, and respectful of our established neighbourhoods. ***With that, I remain steadfast in my position that the majority of growth related costs should be coming from developers NOT existing Grimsby taxpayers.***

Any planning decisions made by Council should reflect the long-term interests of current Grimsby residents and the overall vision our community has for Grimsby’s future.

As always, I encourage residents to stay informed and engaged as we continue discussions on the future growth and development of our community.