Additional residential units - Townships

The consultation period for this project has closed. Please find information about by-laws and contacts for your community at https://www.oxfordcounty.ca/en/services-for-you/additional-residential-units.aspx

Update: February 10, 2023

Update

On February 8, 2023, County Council approved Official Plan amendments to allow additional residential units in Oxford’s five rural townships: Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Norwich, South-West Oxford and Zorra.

Read Council report CP 2023-20 - Supplemental Report 2, Proposed Official Plan Amendment (OP 22-16-9) Additional Residential Units in Rural Areas Post-Bill 23
Read the Official Plan Amendment
Watch the Council recording: County Council, February 8, 2023 (1 hour-13 min mark)

Following approval of the Official Plan Amendment, each Township is now required to initiate amendments to its own zoning by-laws to reflect the amended policies.

Additional residential units in the five rural townships

Original publication date: June 20, 2022

Oxford County is in the process of updating its Official Plan policies to allow for Additional Residential Units (ARUs) in Oxford’s rural areas, including the Townships of Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Norwich, South-West Oxford and Zorra. These updates will allow residents to establish ARUs in rural settlements and on rural residential and agricultural lots, where appropriate.

The Planning Act directs that municipalities enact policies and zoning provisions that authorize ARUs in, and/or on the same property as, low density housing types, such as single-detached and semi-detached homes. This is one way that communities can provide additional housing options and increase the overall housing supply.

Updates to policies for ARUs in Oxford’s urban areas, including Ingersoll, Tillsonburg, and Woodstock, are being considered separately. The ARU policies for Woodstock were approved in February 2022.

What are ARUs?

This section was updated February 3, 2023

Additional Residential Units (ARUs) are separate, self-contained dwelling units (i.e., own kitchen, bathroom and sleeping areas) that are inside, attached to, or ancillary to (located on the same lot as) a single detached, semi-detached or street townhouse dwelling. ARUs can take many forms, such as basement apartments, attached suites, tiny homes and coach houses, but they must be smaller than the principal dwelling or residence.

Community consultation

This section was updated October 31, 2022

Public consultation on Additional Residential Units in Oxford's townships took place between July and September 2022. Opportunities for the public to provide feedback included:

Email/electronic submissions: Questions and comments were accepted through email to planning@oxfordcounty.ca; directly to the project lead, Meghan House, at mhouse@oxfordcounty.ca; or via the online question form.
Local council meetings: These took place between June 21 and August 9, 2022, and provided an opportunity for the public to hear a presentation on proposed changes.
Public meeting: This took place at County on September 14, 2022. Download the public notice
Feedback form: A short survey presented different options and scenarios for comment. The survey closed Sunday, August 14, 2022.

More information

Please see project updates below for more information on the consultation phase for this project. If you have questions, please contact Community Planning at planning@oxfordcounty.ca.