Planning and Development

Every property in the Township, whether it be a single-family home, multi-unit building, commercial or industrial development, requires a civic address. At the request of the owner, a civic address may be assigned to a farm field. A  properly assigned and posted civic address is required for emergency services, property assessments, building and other permitting services.. 

If your civic address blade is damaged or stolen, it is the property owner’s responsibility to replace it.  Signs and posts are required to be purchased at the Township Office and are required to be installed in accordance with the Civic Addressing By-Law. The cost of replacement is in accordance with the General Rates and Fees By-Law.

New civic addresses are assigned by the Planning and Development department in accordance with the  Civic Addressing By-law 20-043.

A Consent Application is used to divide land (New Lot Creation), reconfigure land (Lot Addition) or to create an easement/right-of-way.

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville is the Consent Granting Authority for all consent applications in the Township.  Information regarding the process, contacts and forms is located on the Consent Granting Authority page.

The Consent Granting Authority is responsible for the administration and approval of applications for consent to sever land within the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The process is administered by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Consent Granting Authority.

• Responsibilities of the Consent Granting Authority include:
• Pre-consultation and providing guidance to applicants;
• Receipt and processing of complete applications;
• Circulation of applications and notices to municipalities, conservation authorities, adjacent landowners, commenting agencies, etc.;
• Decision making (including potential Consent Granting Authority hearing)
• Circulation of the Notice of Decision;
• Liaison with the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT);
• Issuance of the Certificate of Consent

Before you submit a consent application, prepare a detailed sketch of your proposal and a cover letter, and request a pre-consultation meeting with the Township using our Pre-consultation meeting request form.  Please note that the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville require pre-consultation with their roads department for any severance proposed on a County Road.

The Township Zoning By-Law No. 2007-079 regulates how land and buildings are used and where buildings and structures can be located. This by-law also specifies lot sizes and dimensions, minimum setback requirements, building heights and other provisions to regulate development.

Sometimes due to site conditions and/or character of existing buildings, it is not possible to meet all the requirements of the Zoning By-law. In this case, you can submit a Minor Variance or Permission application. If approved, these types of applications permit a minor adjustment of a specific Zoning By-law requirement to excuse a property owner from meeting the exact requirement(s) of the By-Law.

A Minor Variance application is used when a property or project cannot meet a specific provision(s) of the Township’s Zoning By-Law, for example: a yard setback, lot coverage, or building height requirement.

A Permission application deals specifically with altering or expanding existing buildings that are legal non-conforming uses.  This means that the  buildings were lawfully constructed before the current Zoning By-law came into effect, but do not comply with today’s zoning requirements.

Minor Variance and Permission applications can take approximately 90 days to process, which includes a mandatory public hearing and circulation timelines for comment from members of the public and various agencies.

All Minor Variance and Permission applications are considered and decided upon by the Committee of Adjustment.

Before you submit a Minor Variance or Permission application, prepare a detailed sketch of your proposal (including a detailed site plan and renderings) and then request a pre-consultation meeting using our Pre-consultation meeting request form.  

The Township's Official Plan is a policy document that guides growth and development in the Township.  It includes policies to facilitate housing and economic development and protect important resources such as the natural environment, and agricultural lands.

If you wish to use or develop your property in a manner that is not in conformance with the Official Plan designations and/or policies, then you need to apply for an Official Plan Amendment.

Official Plan amendment applications are considered by Council.  If an Official Plan amendment is adopted by Council, it then needs to go to the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville for approval.

The application process involves public consultation including a mandatory public meeting to receive comments from members of the pubic, and circulation to various external agencies.

Before you submit an Official Plan amendments application, prepare a detailed sketch of your proposal (including a detailed site plan and renderings) and request a pre-consultation meeting using our Pre-Consultation meeting form.  Township staff will coordinate with United Counties of Leeds and Grenville staff to review your proposal and provide comments.

Unopened road allowances in the Township are governed by By-law 2025-036, a By-law to Establish Unopened Road Allowance Policies and the policies of the Township Official Plan.

The purpose of the By-law is to provide a uniform policy with respect to establishing uses of Unopened Road Allowances in the Township and processing Unopened Road Allowance applications related to the following: 

a) Request to close and transfer (purchase); or

b) Licence Agreement (use of the road allowance).

To apply to close or use an unopened road allowance, you will be required to complete the Road Allowance Closure Application Form and pay the appropriate fees as outlined in General Rates and Fees By-law. The application form provides an overview of the process and requirements.

The purchase price of every Unopened Road Allowance shall be determined by a land appraisal to be completed by a certified Land Appraiser retained by the applicant and the area of the land to be conveyed is required to be surveyed.  All associated costs are the responsibility of the Applicant.

The Township road allowance extends beyond the shoulders of the road surface. Permission must be obtained from the Township before placing any object or structure on a road allowance. These objects or structures can include:

• hedges
• fences
• decks
• buildings
• awnings
• sidewalks
• retaining walls

Contact us to confirm the placement of your structure or object.

Site Plan Control is a planning tool implemented through By-Law 21-071, and used to evaluate overall site functionality as well as certain site elements such as walkways. parking areas, access, and lighting, on a property where development is proposed.  The authority for Site Plan Control is prescribed under section 41 of the Planning Act.  It is used to control development details such as the location of buildings, property access,  parking requirements, elevations, and grading.   It ensures that certain features of a development are maintained into the future.

Approval of Site Plan Control applications is delegated to the Township's Director of Planning and Development.

Before you submit a Site Plan Control Application, prepared a detailed sketch of your proposal (including a detailed site plan and renderings), a cover letter, and then request a pre-consultation meeting with the Township.

Site Plan Information Links

• Site Plan Guidelines
• Township Design Criteria and Standards
• Site Plan Control By-Law 21-071
• Pre-Consultation request form
• Planning Application form

A draft plan of subdivision divides lands into proposed lots and creates municipal roads.  The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville is the Land Division Authority for new plans of subdivision, however there are typically additional approvals required from the Township. 

Pre-consultation is strongly encouraged prior to submitting a planning application. The pre-consultation process allows you to submit a proposal and for Township staff to identify what approvals are required; provide an overview of the process; provide preliminary comments about the viability of your proposal; and advise what plans and studies are required to support an application. Please see the Pre-consultation calendar for a list of submission dates and review timelines.

Township staff will work with the staff of the United Counties to review an application for subdivision. Information regarding this process is available on the UCLG website.

Zoning By-Laws implement the policies of the Official Plan. They contain specific requirements that are legally enforceable and control the use of land. Zoning By-Laws state exactly:

• how land may be used;
• where buildings and other structures can be located;
• the types of buildings that are permitted and how they may be used; and
• the lot sizes and dimensions, parking requirements, building heights and setbacks from the street.

Building permits will not be issued for construction or development that does not comply with the Township’s Zoning By-Law.

The Comprehensive Zoning By-Law No. 07-079 is available online and you can view it here: Comprehensive Zoning By-Law.

·         Zoning By-Law 07-079 - Consolidated Version as of January 4, 2023

·         Schedule A - Ward 1 - Consolidated Version as of January 4, 2023

·         Schedule B - Ward 1 - Shoreline - Consolidated Version as of January 4, 2023

·         Schedule C - Ward 2 - Consolidated Version as of January 11, 2023

·         Schedule D - Ward 3 - Consolidated Version as of January 4, 2023

·         Schedule E - Ward 3 - Shoreline - Consolidated Version as of January 4, 2023

·         Schedule F - Lansdowne, Maple Grove, Outlet - Consolidated Version as of January 4, 2023

·         Schedule G - Lyndhurst, Seeley's Bay - Consolidated Version as of January 4, 2023

The Zoning By-Law can be amended to change the zoning of the land or add site-specific provisions to the zoning for an individual property. All zoning amendments must comply with the policies of the Official Plan.

Zoning By-Law Amendment applications are considered by Council.

The application process involves public consultation including a mandatory public meeting to receive comments from members of the public, and circulation to various agencies.

Before you submit a Zoning By-Law Amendment application, prepare a detailed sketch of your proposal (including a detailed site plan and renderings), a cover letter, and request a Pre-consultation meeting using our pre-consultation meeting request form.