Site Plan Approval
Site Plan Approval is required for most development, including construction, additions or alterations to buildings and structures (other than one and two unit dwellings). It is also required to lay out commercial parking lots or certain trailer sites.
Site plans establish both design and technical aspects of development (for example stormwater, servicing, traffic, landscaping) all in conformity with the provisions of the Zoning By-Law, Development Manual and Development Guidelines. To view these documents please find them under additional resources on our Planning and Development Webpage.
You will need a site plan if you are:
- constructing a new building or addition;
- creating a commercial parking lot;
- undertaking renovations that increase the size/usability of a building; or
- making alterations to an already approved site plan.
Application Requirements
To ensure the success of your application follow the requirements as laid out below. The accordions below provides more information to help guide you through the application process.
 Pre-Consultation |
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| Submission Requirements |
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You will need to request and complete the Site Plan Application Form. The information requested in the application must be provided by the applicant, and will be used to process the Site Plan under Section 41 of the Planning Act. If information, including copies of the required plans or reports and the applicable fee are not provided, the City may return the application or refuse to consider the application further until receipt of all the required information and fees have been provided. Make sure all studies/reports identified at the pre-consultation meeting are included. |
| Application Fees |
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A complete breakdown of our fee schedule can be found on our Fees webpage. |
Steps for the Application Approval Process
The accordions below provides more information to help guide you through the application process.
| Step 1: Application Submission |
| Proponent submits application package to the Approvals Section of the Engineering and Development Services Department. All related plans, reports and fees are submitted with the application. |
| Step 2: Application Review and Circulation |
| Once the application is deemed complete, Approvals circulates the submission to internal groups within the City, and any outside agencies that the project will require approval from. |
| Step 3: Comments Reviewed |
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The submission is reviewed by staff and the Applicant amends the plans based on the comments provided by the City, and resubmits. Once all comments have been addressed the Agreement phase of the site plan process begins. |
| Step 4: Agreement Drafted |
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Approvals will provide a draft site plan agreement to the proponent to arrange the required fees, Once the applicant has reviewed the draft agreement and any comments are addressed City Staff will prepare and print signing copies of the agreement for the applicant and any mortgagees to execute. |
| Step 5: Final Approval |
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The proponent delivers the approved drawing sets along with the signed agreements, all fees and securities to Approvals. Approvals sends the signed agreements to our lawyer for registration on title. |
| Step 6: Building Permit Issued |
| Approvals notifies our Building Section that the project now has planning approval, and they may proceed to issue a building permit through their process. |
Site Plan Process Flowchart
Request our Site Plan Process flowchart for an overview of the application process.