Students of the University of Guelph Rural Planning & Development program are embarking on a project that will take them outside the classroom to experience and work on a real-world situation working with Town staff in Saugeen Shores.
In the Fall of 2025, the University submitted a request for student opportunities to work with Town staff, and received four proposals. The final selection was ‘Settlement Area Expansion: Town of Saugeen Shores Community Needs Assessment’. The masters-level program focuses on “rural and remote communities” and the project is part of the Winter 2026 semester.
The project will “… identify and analyze the Town of Saugeen Shores’ community strengths, weaknesses, needs, and resources to include demographic trends, housing affordability, and access to services such as education and healthcare. Once the gaps between the current conditions and desired outcomes are identified, provide recommendations for how to incorporate these finding into future development applications. The goal is to ensure that any proposed settlement area expansions align with the long-term vision for sustainable growth and meet the evolving needs of residents, businesses, and community stakeholders.”
Town Staff have met with the student group to review the proposal, provide additional context and to identify data sources to support their research. Once the project is completed, students will have the opportunity to follow the development process independently to see whether, or not, the suggested recommendations are implemented.
The students’ recommendations will be presented to the Town and Council in the Spring.
The report presented recently to Town Council, and as part of the Bruce County Official Plan Update, also indicated that several Landowner Requests have been received for expansion to the settlement area boundaries of Port Elgin and Southampton and that are under consideration by the County.
As these requests are considered and advanced, “… there will be an opportunity for the Town to also work with the developer(s) and make recommendations on how to meet the needs of its rapidly growing community.”
