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The City's current Strategic Plan was adopted by Council in 2013. The 20-year plan outlines a vision for the future of Woodstock and helps guide work planning and decision making.
In January 2023, Council directed staff to plan a Strategic Priorities workshop with Council to provide an update on progress towards the goals in the Strategic Plan, identify any new or emerging issues the City needs to address and develop an updated list of priority actions.
The Strategic Plan identifies four goals:
Community Goal: Enhance the quality of life
1.5 - Partner to support the development of a campus of services around addiction, mental health and transitional housing (new)
1.6 - Promote equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the community (new)
Economy Goal: Create a dynamic, diversified economy
7. Enhance the vibrancy in the downtown core
8. Promote Woodstock as a place to attract and retain business
9. Identify and create a ‘destination’ for Woodstock (place for visitors)
10. Support the development of a skilled labour force
11. Encourage the use of locally produced products
7.1 - Update the property standards bylaw
7.5 - Support the creation and intensification of residential units in the downtown (new)
8.1 - Develop additional strategies to attract new business
Environment Goal: Protect and enhance our natural environment
12. Protect and preserve the environment
13. Promote and implement green initiatives
14. Protect the quality of our air and water
15. Reduce our energy consumption
13.1 Expand waste diversion initiatives
13.3 Focus on the goals of the Community Energy Plan (new)
Fiscal Sustainability Goal: Ensure long-term financial sustainability for the city
16. Develop a long-term financial sustainability plan
17. Enhance emergency management planning
18. Provide the necessary resources to support community and economic growth (new)
18.1 Amend the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw to allow for increased residential density (new)
18.2 Pursue a boundary adjustment to maintain a 25-year residential land supply (new)
Some of the initiatives underway related to the identified priorites include:
On Jan. 27, 2025, the Province announced that the Oxford Ontario Health Team's (OHT) application for a Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub was successful. HART Hubs are intended to provide a coordinated system of care that includes (but is not limited to) outreach services, residential treatment, transitional housing, and access to mental health and addiction support programs.
While the Hub is not a single facility, it is exactly the type of model that was envisioned during Council's strategic reprioritization session that led to the development of the following strategic action item:
With the announcement on Jan. 27, the Oxford OHT, Hospital and community partners are now firming up details of the Hub. For the latest information, visit the Oxford HART Hub page on the Hospital's website.
As part of their efforts to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, the Province asked Ontario’s largest and fastest-growing municipalities to submit a housing pledge outlining the strategies, actions and initiatives they will take to achieve their housing targets. Council held a special meeting on Nov. 9, 2023 to explore gentle density strategies and brainstorm initiatives and barriers to creating more homes in Woodstock. Based on their feedback, staff prepared a draft housing pledge for their consideration. Council approved Woodstock's Housing Pledge at their meeting on Dec. 14, 2023. Municipalities who committed to reaching the target assigned to them by the Province who also submitted a Housing Pledge by Dec. 15, 2023 are eligible for a share of the $1.2 billion Building Faster Fund.
In 2024, the Province confirmed our eligibility for BFF funding for exceeding our 2023 housing target. The 2023 target for Woodstock was 403 units and the actual housing starts recorded in 2023 was 475. This reflects an achievement of 118 per cent of the City’s target and resulted in a $1,990,736 investment for the 2024 BFF program year.
As part of their efforts to help address the critical housing shortage in Ontario, the province has recently introduced changes that allow more property owners to add additional residential units (ARUs) to their property. ARUs are one of the ways the City can increase residential density and help achieve our housing target. Learn more about ARUs in Woodstock.
As part of our efforts to increase opportunities for safe, affordable, and appropriate housing and to support an agreement with the Canada Community Building Fund (CCBF), the City has created a Housing Needs Assessment. The following document looks at what types of homes people in Woodstock will need in the future.
In October 2022, Council adopted the Downtown Streetscape Master Plan. The plan outlines design concepts, recommended materials, proposed phasing and cost estimates and was one of the top priorities identified in the Downtown Development Plan. Learn more about this project on the Streetscape Master Plan page.
The Mayor’s Social Well-Being Task Force was established to work with community partners to address the social well-being of the city and support initiatives that accelerate solutions to housing, mental health, safety and addictions issues in our community. Learn more about the task force and community partners on the task force webpage.
To help ensure Woodstock has enough residential and employment land to support the growth of our community, Woodstock City Council approved the establishment of a Boundary Adjustment Committee in May 2023. Find details about the proposed boundary adjustment between the City and Norwich Township on the project page.
Contact Us
City of Woodstock
P.O. Box 1539, 500 Dundas Street
Woodstock, ON N4S 0A7
Phone: 519-539-1291
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