Participate in Planning

This page was created to help you better understand opportunities to participate or engage in planning and development projects in Muskoka. Planning is a heavily regulated and formal process, and can be intimidating to understand, but we are here to help you navigate this process and explain how you can be involved!

Why is Planning Important?

Land use planning helps build complete, healthy and sustainable communities and guides decisions about where to locate:

homes and businesses
parks and schools
roads, sewers and other essential services

Land use planning helps communities set growth and change goals while keeping social, economic and environmental factors in mind. It also balances the interests of individual property owners with the wider interests of the whole community.

Who does Planning in Muskoka?

The municipal government in Muskoka is organized in a two-tier system. The District Municipality of Muskoka forms the upper-tier, working closely with six Area Municipalities who make up the lower-tier. Both levels collaborate and align planning services to achieve efficiencies and best serve residents and visitor to Muskoka.

For more information on planning in Muskoka please click on the link below.

https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/area-municipalities/area-municipalities.aspx

How to Participate or Engage in Planning and Development Projects

You can be part of the planning and development process by:

attending public meetings, open houses and workshops on policy or development projects in your community
providing your thoughts in writing to the District regarding specific policy or developments (District staff contact information is provided on planning notices)
staying engaged in planning and development projects posted to the Engage Muskoka Platform
subscribing to receive planning related notices via email from our website
- Important note: This website subscription includes public notices posted by the District of Muskoka where the District of Muskoka is the approval authority for the application and where posting is required by legislation. Please contact your local Area Municipality to understand their notice procedures.
If you are within the regulated circulation radius of an application, you may also receive a mailed notice outlining application details

What is Engage Muskoka?

Engage Muskoka is the District’s online platform to engage community members in projects happening in our community. Project pages include descriptions of the project, timelines, helpful links, documents, FAQ’s and a point of contact who you can reach out to for further information. Many planning initiatives are included on this platform (see list below).

You can also subscribe to receive project updates right to your inbox from Engage Muskoka project pages.

How do I subscribe to receive updates on Engage Muskoka?

From the project home page, locate the "Stay Informed Tool" (Just look for the big blue megaphone on the top right-hand side of your desktop computer, or scroll down on your mobile device). Enter your email address and hit subscribe!

You will then be added to our courtesy notice list and receive communication to your inbox letting you know of updates, survey’s, workshops, open houses, and public meeting dates.

Current Planning Projects on Engage Muskoka:

Resort Policy Review for Muskoka

Helpful Links