The City of Toronto’s Mandatory Pre-Application Consultation By-law has been updated. Effective October 12, 2023, requirements, including those related to Site Plan Control applications, have changed (By-law 965-2023). Please review the requirements below.
The Pre-Application Consultation process gives development applicants and the City the opportunity to take part in preliminary discussion about a development proposal prior to application submission. Effective consultation at the outset of the development review process supports good city-building outcomes in several ways, including:
The Pre-Application Consultation process is required prior to submission of the following application types:
In this process, the applicant meets with City staff in a Pre-Application Consultation meeting to identify and discuss requirements for application submission and to discuss potential site-specific issues and opportunities related to the applicant’s proposal. At the end of the process, the City will provide the applicant with a Planning Application Checklist Package: a checklist of planning materials required for application submission (e.g., required plans, studies, reports) and advisory comments related to the City’s policy framework. The applicant can use the Planning Application Checklist Package to develop their application.
To request a Pre-Application Consultation meeting, please complete the online request form in the Application Submission Tool (AST).
Pre-Application Consultation meetings are required in Toronto prior to the submission of the four application types below. This requirement is in accordance with Chapter 415, Article II, Section 19.2 of the Toronto Municipal Code. Chapter 5.5 of the City’s Official Plan also supports the practice.
If your proposal requires more than one application type, you must request a separate Pre-Application Consultation meeting for each application type. Exception: Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment may be combined.
Pre-Application Consultation meetings for Site Plan Control (SPC) applications are no longer permitted to occur concurrently with Pre-Application Consultation meetings for any other application type. Staff will schedule and hold a separate meeting for SPC applications and issue a separate checklist. The applicant may be advised that the SPC application may be premature.
Pre-Application Consultation meetings are not applicable to Condominium, Part Lot Control, Rental Housing, and Variance applications.
After the Pre-Application Consultation meeting has occurred, the following requirements must be satisfied for application submission to ensure validity of the Pre-Application Consultation. Note that if any of the requirements are not satisfied, the applicant must request another a Pre-Application Consultation meeting.
You will be required to pay a non-refundable fee (PAC Fee Deposit) of $700 prior to the meeting. Instructions for payment will be emailed to you once your request for a meeting has been approved. If you need to submit more than one application type for your proposal, a separate Pre-Application Consultation meeting and fee is required for each type.
The fee is a deposit, which will be deducted from your development application fee when you submit the development application in accordance with Satisfying Requirements of the Pre-Application Consultation Meeting. If you decide not to submit an application after the meeting, there is no refund for the deposit.
When you submit a request for a Pre-Application Consultation meeting, you are required to submit two materials: a Concept Site Plan and Concept Elevations and/or Renderings. Submitting the required materials in accordance with the listed requirements will reduce delays in processing your request.
To request a Pre-Application Consultation meeting, complete the online form using the Application Submission Tool (AST). For technical assistance on using the Application Submission Tool, please email appsubmission@toronto.ca.
When completing the form, provide as much information as possible to allow City staff to scope the discussion at your Pre-Application Consultation meeting. You will need to:
Once you submit the Pre-Application Consultation meeting request, you will receive a confirmation number. A Planning Consultant will check your documents against the stated requirements. If any documents are missing or do not meet the requirements, the Planning Consultant will ask you to provide the required information or revise the documents.
After all the required information and documents are received, the Planning Consultant will email you a Pre-Application Consultation folder number and instructions on how to pay the Pre-Application Consultation fee.
To reduce delays in securing a meeting date, the City encourages you to complete payment as soon as you receive payment instructions from the Planning Consultant.
Payment can be made with a credit card online at Toronto Building Payments Online or over the phone at 416-397-5222. You will receive an email to confirm receipt of your payment.
The fee must be paid within sixty (60) business days of receiving instructions for payment. If you fail to make payment within this period, the City will close your Pre-Application Consultation file. Once the file is closed, you will need to submit a new request for a Pre-Application Consultation meeting through the Application Submission Tool (AST).
An Application Coordinator will contact you to schedule the meeting within ten (10) business days of the confirmation of your payment. You will be given one to two potential meeting times and asked to confirm the times that work for you within one to two business days. Any delay in confirming a time may result in delays to the overall process, as the provided meeting times will not be held longer than one to two business days.
A Community Planner will chair the meeting, with members of the core team and, as needed, extended teams and External Agencies and Commenting Partners in attendance.
The core team consists of reviewers from the following units and divisions:
The extended review team includes other units within City Planning (e.g., Heritage Planning, Strategic Initiatives Policy & Analysis) and other divisions (e.g., Economic Development & Culture). The Priority Development Review Stream’s team may review developments that have qualified for a funding program through the Housing Secretariat.
You will be given five (5) minutes to make a presentation about the location of the site and the proposal, highlighting any unique features. If more time is required to provide a presentation about the proposal, more than one Pre-Application Consultation Meeting may be required to satisfy Chapter 415, Article II, Section 19.2 of the Toronto Municipal Code.
The City will discuss the general application requirements with you, and you will be given the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification on application requirements and draft comments provided by the City. Additional discussion may take place regarding the application proposal and any issues or opportunities identified by either you or the reviewers.
The submission materials that you present at the Pre-Application Consultation meeting must be identical to the ones that you submitted through the Application Submission Tool (AST) as part of your request. Staff will only discuss the submission materials that were provided in advance of the meeting.
After your Pre-Application Consultation meeting, you will receive a Planning Application Checklist Package.
After the Pre-Application Consultation meeting, the Community Planner will email you the finalized Planning Application Checklist Package indicating required materials (in addition to the minimum application requirements set out in the Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act and the Official Plan) for your application submission. If you need clarification on application requirements, you may contact the reviewers assigned to your Pre-Application Consultation meeting using the contact information included in the Planning Application Checklist Package. The Pre-Application Consultation process is complete once you have attended the meeting and received the Planning Application Checklist Package.
After receipt of the Planning Application Checklist Package, the next step is for you to prepare all the materials that are listed on the Planning Application Checklist for your application submission. You are also required to review the Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act (where applicable) and the Official Plan to ensure you have provided the required application information and materials to support the application(s) in accordance with the City’s Terms of Reference. Please note that at the time of application submission, it remains your responsibility to ensure compliance with all requirements for a complete application as prescribed under the Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the City’s Official Plan.
If you choose to modify your proposal after the meeting in a way that differs from staff comments and recommendations, a new Pre-Application Consultation meeting will be required.
* Pre-Application Consultation meetings are intended to be an open, free-flowing discussion on a future development application between applicants and the City and it is not expected or required that legal representation would attend. In rare circumstances where the applicant provides a justification as to why a legal representative should attend, a request of City Legal Services will be made to have a City lawyer also attend the Pre-Application Consultation meeting. The Pre-Application Consultation meeting will be scheduled based on the availability of Legal Services to attend such a meeting. If a legal representative or counsel is present at a pre-application consultation meeting where it has not been pre-arranged, the meeting will be immediately cancelled and rescheduled for another time. In such circumstances, the applicant will not have satisfied the Pre-Application Consultation meeting requirement in accordance with Chapter 415, Article II, Section 19.2 of the Toronto Municipal Code until the rescheduled meeting is held.
Other services such as General Pre-Application Inquiry and the Zoning Applicable Law Certificate Program are voluntary yet encouraged as they provide opportunities for applicants to get a clearer understanding of what application(s) may be needed. Additionally, while voluntary, the Official Plan, Chapter 5.5 encourages applicants to start outreach to Councillors, local communities and other stakeholders before submitting their application(s).
During the early stages of forming your proposal, resources are available to you both online and through informal discussion with the City. Pre-Application Inquiry can take many forms, including, but not limited to:
A Zoning Applicable Law Certificate Program (ZAP) review can help you determine the application type(s) required for a proposal. A ZAP review is a preliminary review of plans to confirm zoning and applicable law compliance.
A ZAP review may:
While a ZAP review is not required prior to submitting a request for a Pre-Application Consultation meeting, you are strongly encouraged to submit one as they provide information about what type of planning or other applications may be required.
Chapter 5 of the Official Plan encourages applicants to consult with Councillors and local communities prior to formal submission of an application. Councillors and local communities should be engaged after the Pre-Application Consultation meeting between an applicant and City staff. By engaging with these parties early on:
While this consultation is voluntary, it is valuable for all stakeholders and is considered a best practice.