Our Town: A History of Land-Use Policy and Owen Sound's Downtown
In this fifth column in his limited series 'Our Town,' David McLeish examines some of the policies meant to protect Owen Sound's downtown — and why they haven't.
OUR TOWN | OPINION
Our Town is a limited series of columns by Owen Sound resident David McLeish. This column reflects the analysis and evidence-based opinions of the author and is part of an ongoing opinion series. It is not news reporting.
The previous Our Town column traced how Owen Sound's retail migrated from downtown to the big-box east side; this instalment turns to the land-use policies that were meant to keep it downtown — and why they couldn't.
“But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!” Robert Burns 1785
Modern Translation: (”But mouse, you are not alone In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes of mice and men Go often awry, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!”)
From a planning perspective, the Province and the City of Owen Sound have enacted a plethora of legislation, regulations, policies, and plans that relate directly to the City’s downtown, now called The River District. One would expect that these documents would provide an abundance of clarity.
Sadly, they do and they don’t.
To start, legally, The Corporation of the City of Owen Sound is incorporated under the Municipal Act, 2001, and is therefore a ‘creature’ of the Province. The authority for land use decisions derives from the Government of Ontario’s Planning Act, which governs how land is developed. One of its primary purposes is to “promote sustainable economic development in a healthy natural environment.”
More specifically, Ontario accomplishes this governance through a variety of Regulations, especially the Provincial Planning Statement (PPS). This policy is intended to provide a “province-wide land use planning policy framework” that will, amongst other things, “support development, and increase the housing supply across the province” and “protect agricultural lands, the environment, public health and safety.”
The PPS provides the structure for the City’s Official Plan (OP), meaning that the City’s OP must be consistent with both the Planning Act and the PPS.
At first blush, these documents appear to say all the right words about the importance of Ontario’s downtowns.
As far back as 1997, the Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) noted the importance of “maintaining and, where possible, enhancing the vitality and viability of downtowns and mainstreets.” The importance of downtowns persisted until 2020, after which things changed.
In the 2024 PPS, the Province rolled downtowns up into “strategic growth areas” along with major transit station areas, lands in close proximity to publicly assisted postsecondary institutions, underutilized shopping malls and plazas, etc. In effect, they were no longer considered distinct from other parts of town.
Reflecting the PPS, the City’s OP has also emphasized its commitment to the Downtown/River District. The word “downtown” appeared 150 times in the 2006 OP, 148 times in the 2017 OP, and the “River District” was mentioned 91 times in the 2022 OP. The City’s latest OP still mentions the downtown 88 times.
The OP continues to include objectives such as:
“Maintain and enhance the viability and vitality of the River District Commercial and Harbour as the primary economic, commercial, financial, cultural, tourism and employment focus of the City and region.”
“To maintain and promote the importance of the River District Commercial and Harbour as a focus of growth and investment and a key cultural and tourism resource in the City.”
Perhaps more importantly, the OP notes:
“For any expansion to the East City Commercial designation or rezoning application in the East City Commercial designation for the uses listed in Section 3.5.1.1 a) and b) that are less than 465 square metres and greater than 1,400 square metres, the City shall require the following information and studies acceptable to the City:]
A retail market analysis of the need for the proposed development and the impact of the proposed use on the commercial structure of the City and the County. Such a study shall confirm that:
Designated commercial property, suitable for the intended scale and type of development is not available within the River District Commercial area.
Available commercial property in the River District Commercial area is not economically viable for the intended scale and type of development.
The proposed increase in commercial floor space will not be premature by increasing the amount of commercial floor space in the City beyond the 5 year market demand.
The proposed development will not undermine the economic viability or planned function of a significant commercial component of the River District Commercial area or impair the function of a designated commercial district as identified in this Plan.”
Furthermore, the City has invested heavily in the downtown from the planning, program, and infrastructure perspectives. This includes plans such as:
2000 Owen Sound Harbour & Downtown Urban Design / Master Plan Strategy (which was considered “part of the Official Plan”)
2006 Retail and Commercial Policy Review
2015–2020 Strategic Plan
2018 Downtown River Precinct - Master Plan
2020 River District Action Plan
2020 Community Improvement Plan
2021–2023 Strategic Plan Refresh
and programs including:
Façade & Structural Improvement Grant Program
Vacant Lands Tax Assistance Program
Start-up Space Leasehold Improvement Grant Program
and infrastructure projects such as:
Downtown River Precinct (DRP) initiative:
Phase 1 of the DRP was completed in 2019, with construction in the 800 block of 1st Avenue East (including the Farmers’ Market area).
Phase 2 of the DRP was completed in 2025, with the transformation of the 900 block of 1st Avenue East.
Future Phases 3 and 4 will focus on redeveloping the west side of the Sydenham River, 800 and 900 blocks.
Despite these strong commitments and actions, development of retail space on the east side has proceeded apace to the point that it has long since surpassed the downtown in terms of square footage.
The following chart illustrates the square feet of retail space in the downtown relative to the east side. As can be seen, by 1999, there was over 2.5 times more retail space on the east side relative to the downtown.
These changes did not happen without challenges and, at times, considerable consternation. Indeed, it is clear that City Council struggled to strike a balance between maintaining the downtown and meeting the demand for new development.
In 2001, it took the Mayor to break a tie vote to permit the arrival of Home Depot to the City.
The 2006 Retail and Commercial Policy Review determined that there was opportunity to provide further clarification and direction within the City’s Official Plan policies to help promote the Downtown area while balancing future development in other commercial nodes.
In 2013, the Sun Times reported, “city council rejected most of a number of zoning requests by the developer including increasing by 57% the amount of retail and service floor space at Heritage Grove. Villarboit is in the process of reviewing their options including appealing council’s decision to the Ontario Municipal Board.”
At the end of the day, any sort of balance between the downtown and the east side has proved impossible.
It should also be noted that developers retain legal counsel and planners who can request amendments to the City’s OP and Zoning Bylaw or challenge decisions made by the City to the Ontario Land Tribunal (previously the Ontario Municipal Board). These matters can take months to resolve, involve significant amounts of staff time, necessitate the retention of external legal counsel, and cost the City over $100,000 per appeal.
In addition, when the Province updates the PPS, the City must ensure that local plans and policies are amended to reflect these changes. Most recently, at the March 23, 2026, Council Meeting, a report on the Comprehensive Update of the City of Owen Sound Official Plan 2021 and Zoning By-law stated:
“The City’s Official Plan includes goals, objectives and policies related to protecting the viability of the River District and Harbour and maintaining the River District as the City’s primary commercial node.
These policies related to the former Provincial Policy Statement, which included policy in section 1.7 that supported the maintenance and enhancement of downtowns and main streets.
The new Provincial Planning Statement, 2024, does not include this same policy. The City’s Official Plan can continue to include policy related to maintaining the River District, but it is no longer a provincial policy direction. The importance of the River District commercial node remains a relevant policy consideration.”
The report goes on to note, “that there was opportunity to provide further clarification and direction within the City’s Official Plan policies to help promote the Downtown area while balancing future development in other commercial nodes.”
It is nigh on impossible to consider the changes to Owen Sound’s downtown without recognizing that there are a plethora of factors other than government policies that affect businesses. Obviously, it goes beyond the scope of this article to dissect all of the things such as personal decisions, market forces, and the global economy that go into business decisions. Suffice to say that the evolution from:
downtown
to
downtown + shopping centre
to
downtown + shopping centre + big-box stores
to
downtown + shopping centre + big-box stores + online marketplaces/e-commerce platforms
coupled with
pandemic
+
inflation
+
elevated interest rates
+
escalating trade tensions
synergize to generate an exceptionally tangled web.
Finally, one must remember that the City is not an island. It is surrounded by three municipalities (Georgian Bluffs, Chatsworth, and Meaford), which are governed by separate councils who make decisions they consider in the best interests of their communities.
Given the proximity of the boundaries (e.g. Sunset Strip), transitions into these separate jurisdictions can be as simple as crossing an intersection, yet much more complex in practice.
For instance, as noted previously, the growth of retail businesses in Keppel Township, just outside the City’s western boundary, has contributed to changes in the City’s downtown.
Tune in for the next in our series, in which we’ll examine the demographics, age, and income ranges in Owen Sound have contributed to its reshaping over time.
Thank you to sponsors of The Owen Sound Current Writers’ Fund, who make these community contributions possible. Contributions from the community do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
In this series:
