Ontario’s Planning Act (Section 17) requires that the City have an Official Plan. The Official Plan sets out the City of Toronto’s goals, objectives and policies to manage and direct physical change and its effects on the social, economic, built and natural environment.
The Official Plan is a blueprint for how the City will grow over the next 30 years and is prepared in consultation with residents to reflect a community vision for future change. It provides direction on the location of new housing, employment uses, industry, parks, office and retail areas, community services and other land uses. The Official Plan also establishes policies for the built environment, for improvements to hard services such as transit, roads and sewers, and for the protection of the natural environment.
Ontario’s Planning Act (Section 34) gives the City authority to implement land use controls through Zoning By-laws. The Zoning By-law is the legal document that implements goals, objectives and policies described in the Official Plan. It regulates the use and development of buildings and land by stating exactly what types of land uses are permitted in various areas and establishing precise standards for how the land can be developed. These include setting lot sizes and frontages, building setbacks, the height and configuration of buildings, the number and dimensions of parking and loading spaces and requirements for open space.
If you want to use, alter or develop your property in ways that do not conform to the Official Plan, you must apply for a site-specific Official Plan Amendment. Any change to the Official Plan requires an Official Plan Amendment application.
If you want to use, alter or develop your property in ways that do not comply with the Zoning By-law, you must apply for a site-specific Zoning By-law Amendment. You can do this through either a Zoning By-law Amendment application or a variance application.
If you are not sure whether your development proposal involves a Zoning By-law Amendment or variance application, please contact Community Planning staff. You should consider applying for a Zoning Applicable Law Certificate Program (ZAP) to review your proposal and identify any features that do not comply with the Zoning By-law.
You may have to apply to amend the Zoning By-law and the Official Plan at the same time. If you submit these applications at the same time for the same property they will be reviewed together.
If you are applying to amend the Official Plan and/or Zoning By-law, you are strongly encouraged to consult with the City through a Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) to assist in determining which application requirements must be provided as part of your submission for a complete application.
The level of detail required varies for most application requirements, depending on the nature of your property and your proposal. The scope and requirements of any reports or studies will be assessed during your meeting.
After your PAC meeting, you will receive a Planning Application Checklist Package providing comments on your proposal and identifying which application requirements are required (in addition to the minimum application requirements set out in the Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act, and the Official Plan) in order for your application to be considered complete. When you are ready to submit an Official Plan Amendment and/or a Zoning By-law Amendment application, you must provide the Planning Application Checklist Package. Note that City staff will not issue a Planning Application Checklist Package unless you complete a PAC meeting with the City. If you proceed without a PAC meeting, you must submit a completed Application Checklist with your application.
The City strongly encourages you to submit your application within 24 months of receiving the Planning Application Checklist Package following the PAC meeting.
The City strongly discourages you from submitting concurrent PAC meeting requests for Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBA)/Site Plan Control (SPC) or Official Plan Amendment (OPA)/ZBA/SPC applications. Should you submit a concurrent PAC meeting request, staff will schedule and hold a separate PAC meeting for the SPC application. The City will issue a separate Planning Application Checklist Package for the SPC application, advising you that the SPC application may be premature.
To ensure the City’s interests are met and to appropriately assess the merits and technical aspects of your proposal, the City requires submission of several information items with your application.
In addition to the prescribed requirements of the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act, the information and materials that will be required under the Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act and the Official Plan are listed in the Application Checklist.
All submissions must include the completed documents listed on the Forms webpage. The process for submitting a planning application to the City is as follows:
After receiving your submission (which includes all application requirements and payment), the City will circulate your application to City divisions and external agencies and issue a written decision as to whether the submission is complete or incomplete in accordance with the City’s minimum application requirements (refer to the Complete Application Decision section below).
Within 14 days of submission, you will be required to post a sign on the subject property in accordance with the procedures outlined in the application form.
The Toronto Official Plan provides the City the statutory authority to require additional information, studies and plans for submitting a complete application beyond the prescribed requirements of the Planning Act. The City will consider your application(s) to be “complete” when it includes all of the minimum application requirements as well as any materials included on your Planning Application Checklist.
Within 30 days of making your submission (including payment), you will be advised in writing as to whether the submission is complete or incomplete.
Submitting a complete application to the City will allow for a more efficient and comprehensive review of all materials and will mark the beginning of the time period under the Planning Act or the City of Toronto Act for the City to make a decision on the application.
For Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications, within 15 days of your submission being deemed complete, the City Clerk will also issue a formal Notice of Application to the public in the newspaper, in accordance with the Planning Act.
The City will consider your application(s) to be “incomplete” if it does not meet the minimum application requirements. Incomplete Application(s) Notifications will be accompanied by a list of outstanding information and/or material that must be submitted for your submission to be determined to be complete.
If you disagree with the City’s determination of whether the submission is incomplete or if the City does not make a decision on the completeness of the submission within 30 days, the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act allow you to file a motion for directions to request the Ontario Land Tribunal determine whether the information and material have in fact been provided; or whether a requirement was reasonable.
You are encouraged to submit all outstanding information and material as one comprehensive package. The application circulation and review process will only begin once a complete application is made to the City.
Your application will be circulated to a number of City Divisions and/or Agencies, Boards and Commissions for detailed technical review and comment.
Depending upon the circumstances of your property, external agencies may also be asked to comment on your proposal. For example, if your property is close to a watercourse, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority will be asked for their input and/or approval (a service for which the TRCA charges). If your property is next to a rail line, the appropriate rail authority will be asked to comment. Refer to the External Agencies, Boards and Commissions web page for a list of external agencies that may be asked to comment on your application.
Although not required by the Planning Act, a community consultation meeting is held for nearly all Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications. The meeting is organized by Community Planning staff and usually attended by the Ward Councillor.
The community consultation meeting:
The planner assigned to your application(s) will co-ordinate responses from the circulation along with any comments received from the Ward Councillor and the local community. These responses will be forwarded for you to consider as you revise your proposal.
In response to the comments on your initial submission, you may be asked to revise your proposal and/or provide additional information and material. Revised and/or additional information and material should be discussed with the planner. When you are ready to resubmit your application, contact a Planning Consultant to request a secure link (GoAnywhere service) where you can upload your materials. You cannot use the Application Submission Tool to resubmit.
You will be asked to include a covering letter with all resubmissions that clearly indicates how and where your proposal has been revised and, if appropriate, why any requested revisions were not made.
The Planning Act requires that the City hold a public meeting when considering applications for amendments to the Official Plan and/or Zoning By-laws. The public meeting takes place at the meeting of one of the four Community Councils considering your proposal. If the application has city-wide significance, it is considered by the Planning and Housing Committee.
Once your application(s) has been finalized, the City will issue a formal notice of the public meeting. The City also requires that you post the date and time of the public meeting on the sign erected on the property.
City staff will prepare and submit a Report with recommendations on your application(s) to Community Council. At the public meeting, members of Council will consider the staff report and provide a public forum for debate on the merits of your application(s). You have an opportunity to present and respond to questions about your proposal and the public can write in or attend to make their views known before Community Council makes a recommendation on your application(s).
Community Council or the Planning and Housing Committee will make recommendations on your application(s) to City Council for a final decision. City Council then decides whether to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-laws by enacting an amending by-law.
The Planning Act provides a process to appeal City Council’s decision on amending the Official Plan and/or Zoning By-laws to the OLT.
If City Council amends the Official Plan or the Zoning By-law, the City will issue a notice of approval within 15 days of the decision. After this notice has been issued, there is a 20-day period within which a party can appeal this approval to the OLT. If no appeal is submitted, the amendment(s) comes into effect.
A similar appeal procedure applies should City Council refuse your application(s).
*Words in bold are defined in the Glossary of Terms.