Planning and Development

Community Improvement Plan (CIP)

Heritage Conservation 

Accessory Dwelling Units

Accessory Dwelling Units are permitted in single detached, semi-detached, freehold townhouse dwellings or accessory buildings, subject to zoning requirements and restrictions. Legal Accessory Dwelling Units can provide important community benefits such as safe and affordable rental housing. Accessory Dwelling Units also provide economic benefits to homeowners and they support the flexible housing needs of youth, young families and seniors.

Information on acquiring a permit, the process for making an accessory dwelling unit legal and a list of all registered legal accessory dwelling units can be found on our Accessory Dwelling Units webpage.

Telecommunication Towers 

Provincial Planning Statement

The Provincial Policy Statement, 2024 applies province wide. Its policies set out the government's land use vision for how we settle our landscape, create our built environment, and manage our land and resources over the long term to achieve livable and resilient communities. 

Planning decisions in Ontario must be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement.

Official Plan and Zoning 

The Official Plan is our City's key land use document. It describes what kind of community we want to become in the future. It sets goals, objectives, and policies which guide our land use planning decisions. Everything the City does related to land use needs to conform to the Plan.

The Zoning By-law manages the present and future land use in the City. It is a tool used to implement the Official Plan's vision for the City on a day-to-day basis. The Zoning By-law divides the City into land use zones. Each zone has a list of permitted land uses and a set of regulations. There are regulations that apply to specific uses permitted in each zone. There are also general regulations that apply to all properties in any zone.

The Planning Act 

The Planning Act is provincial legislation that sets out the ground rules for land use planning in Ontario. It describes how land uses may be controlled, and who may control them.

The purpose of the Act is to:

• promote sustainable economic development in a healthy natural environment within a provincial policy framework

• provide for a land use planning system led by provincial policy

• provide for planning processes that are fair by making them open, accessible, timely and efficient

The Citizen's Guide to The Planning Act offers more information.

ECA - Sanitary Systems Forms

ECA - Sanitary System Forms include:

• Form A1 - Record of Future Alteration Authorized for Equipment Discharging a Contaminant of Concern to the Atmosphere from a Municipal Sewage Collection System
• Form SS1 - Record of Future Alteration Authorized for Separate Sewers/Nominally Separate Sewers/Forcemains
• Form SS2 - Record of Future Alteration Authorized for Components of the Municipal Sewage Collection System
• Form CS1 - Record of Future Alteration Authorized for Combined Sewers/Partially Separated Sewers/Combined Sewage Storage Tanks and Storage Structures

• Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change's Source Protection Standard Operating Policies

• Design Criteria for Sanitary Sewers, Storm Sewers and Forcemains for Alterations Authorized under Environmental Compliance Approval
• Environmental Compliance Approval For a Municipal Sewage Collection System

Request a copy of the above ECA - Sanitary System Forms

ECA - Stormwater Systems Forms

ECA - Stormwater System Forms include:

• Form SW1 Record of Future Alteration Authorized for Storm Sewers/Ditches/Culverts
• Form SW2 Record of Future Alteration Authorized for Stormwater Management Facilities
• Form SW3 Record of Future Alteration Authorized for Third Pipe Collection Systems

• Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change's Source Protection Standard Operation Policies
• Design Criteria for Sanitary Sewers, Storm Sewers and Forcemains for Alterations Authorized under Environmental Compliance Approval
• Environmental Compliance Approval For a Municipal Stormwater Management System

Request a copy of the above ECA - Stormwater System Forms

Watermain Form

Request a copy of the Watermain Form 1

Note: If you are having difficulty accessing the pdf:

• Right click on the link and choose "save as" and then save it to your computer.
• Once saved, make sure you right click on the pdf and choose "open with Adobe reader."