Staff seeking council approval to endorse the Fairgrounds Visioning Exercise and recommendation report

Scugog - The Township of Scugog and the project consultant undertook an extensive consultation process for a land-use visioning exercise to reimagine the use of the property located at 15835 Old Simcoe Rd. Port Perry, ON, to better serve the local community and the Township year-round. The Township wanted to create a final vision based on input from a wide variety of sources and interested parties within the municipality.

The July 13, 2026, agenda has been published. Highlights include:

• The final vision document from Darwin Pivot detailing results from Your Voice, Your Fairgrounds public consultation and accompanying recommendations for future use
• Complementary report from staff detailing the financial and implementation options for the property

The Vision document outlines key pillars and strategic directions based on the community feedback. The property is sectioned into 4 distinct zones and areas for future considerations:

• Zone 1 – Flexible Open Space & Event Grounds Area
• Zone 2 – Community Activation Area and Future Opportunity Area
• Zone 3 – Community Gathering & Neighbourhood Area
• Future Opportunity Areas

Council is being asked to consider developing an implementation plan based on several principles, including:

• To set aside approximately 19 acres of the 23-acre property to be developed into a new Township Park with open space/event grounds areas, community use areas, and recreational space/facilities
• The proposed open multi-use event space maintains a place for the Port Perry Fair as well as other community events
• Consistent with what was heard through the Visioning Exercise consultation, the large majority of residents want to see improvements to the recreational offerings on the site that would allow it to be used year-round. This includes keeping the community gardens on the property to foster neighbourhood connections to the site, while adding elements such as trails, additional trees, play or recreational structures, new washrooms, seating, and other event-related amenities
• In order to respond to what we heard from the community requesting open green space and other built and manicured features, staff are recommending that council consider a small portion of the property, approximately four acres at the corner of Old Simcoe Rd. and Reach St., be planned and sold preferably for seniors residential/mixed-use development to fund improvements to the remainder of the property
• Funding for any improvements to the property should be sustainable, have minimal impact on the property tax base, and be sourced from the potential uses of the property and other grant funding

The mock-ups in the visioning document are strictly conceptual and do not represent a full plan for the grounds. Rather, they show what could be explored in the future. These concepts would require further research to determine whether they are achievable.

We recommend that residents read both the visioning document and the staff report that will come before Council on July 13.

Any public wishing to delegate to this matter will have the opportunity to submit a delegation request to be included in an addendum to be issued on Friday, July 10, 2026. Requests must be submitted no later than 2:00 p.m.

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Media Contact: Communications and Strategic Projects, Township of Scugog 
905.985.7346, media@scugog.ca

@TwpofScugog

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