Growth Management Services

Planning Applications & Approvals

Management and coordination for development and land use planning applications relating to Official Plan amendments, Zoning By-law amendments, plans of subdivision or condominium, site plans; inclusive of zoning and engineering reviews and approvals. Representation of Township interest for Ontario Land Tribunal appeals.

• Consultation, intake, review, and decision services provided for complex and routine planning application.
• Complex applications include:
  • Official Plan Amendment (OPA)
  • Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBA)
  • Plan of Subdivision and Condominiums
  • Major Site Plan
• Routine applications include:
  • Part Lot Control Exemption (PLC)
  • Minor Site Plan
  • Minor Variance (MV)
  • Consent
  • Heritage Permits and Grants
    • Grants only available for properties designed under Part IV or V of the Ontario Heritage Act 
• Pre-Consultations meetings held for all applications
• OPA, ZBA and PLN of Subdivision / Condominium 
  • Council approval (decision) required
  • Community consultation and posting public notice of Council decisions
  • Ability to appeal decisions to OLT within (20) days of decision
• Major Site Plan Applications
  • Director Approval Required (Chief Planner)
  • Site Plan Agreement development and execution
• Part Lot Control
  • Council decision required + enactment of by-law
• Minor Site Plan Applications
  • Director of GMS decision required
  • Site Plan Agreement development and execution
• Minor Variance and Consent Applications
  • Committee of Adjustment (CoA) hearings on all applications with final approval authority
  • Ability to appeal to OLT within (20) days of decisio
• Heritage Permits
  • Heritage Impact Assessment
• OLT Appeals held where there is a challenge to a Township land-use planning decision (approval or rejection); Township acts on behalf of the municipalities best interest
• Management of the Township’s Heritage Register including the provision of heritage property research and identification for addition
• Heritage Grant Program management
• (14) Heritage Cemeteries (Maintenance via Parks and Forestry Operations)

• Standards applicable to complete applications
• OPA application processing and Council decision within (120) days
  • Min. (1) public open house and Public Planning meeting
  • Public notice of decision within (15) days of Council decision
• ZBA application processing and Council decision within (90) days
  • Min. (1) public open house and Public Planning meeting
  • Public notice of decision within (15) days of Council decision
• Plan of Subdivision and Condominium application processing and Council decision within (120) days
  • Min. (1) public open house and Public Planning Meeting
  • Public notice of decision within (15) days of Council decision
• Major Site Plan application processing and Council decision within (60) days
  • If approval granted with conditions, there is a (2) year standard for conditions to be met after which Council may withdraw approval
• Minor Site Plan application processing and decision within (60) days
• Part Lot Control Exemption application processing and decision within (6) weeks  
• Minor Variance application processing and Council decision within (6) weeks
  • Public notice of decision within (15) days of Committee of Adjustment decision
• Consent application processing and Council decision within (90) days 
  • Public notice of decision within (15) days of Committee of Adjustment decision
• Heritage Permit applications (including grant consideration) processed within (45) business days

Advisory Committees

Administrative management and corporate representation of the corporation to committees acting in the interest of the Township on planning matters occurring, affecting, or impacting the municipality.

• (2) monthly Advisory Committees
  • Committee of Adjustment
  • Heritage Advisory Committee
• Monthly Public Planning meetings (Council)

• Committee of Adjustment and Heritage Advisory Committee agenda published minimum (2) business days in advance of meeting; minutes adopted at succeeding meeting and published within (2) business days.
• CoA hears minor variance and consent applications within (60) days of the date of submission of complete applications.
• Public Planning Meetings
• For agenda and minutes publication standards SEE: Clerk’s

How Much

• (#) of planning applications received by type
• Time (hrs.) spent on planning related inquiries

How Well

• (%) of planning application decisions within legislated standard

Service Performance Dashboard 

Policy Planning

Management and development of mandated and/or non-legislated planning related policies, including the Township’s Official Plan and secondary plans, guidelines, standards, and associated By-laws.

• Maintain and update all Core Planning Policies
  • Official Plan
  • Rural Zoning By-law
  • Urban Zoning By-laws
  • Urban Design Guidelines
  • Green Development Standards
• Specialized Studies  – Completed As Needed (Timelines Depend on Study)
• Provincial and Regional Policy review, analysis, and Council recommendations 

• Reviewed Every (5-10) Years + Assessment if Update is Required
  • Official Plan
  • Rural Zoning By-law
  • Urban Zoning By-law
  • Urban Design Guidelines
  • Green Development Standards
• SpeaKING Online Community Engagement Platform per New or Refreshed Policy Open (1-2 Months)
• Minimum (2) Public Information Centers / Open Houses per New or Refreshed Policy per Urban Area (or As Applicable)
• PICs/Open Houses Advertised Minimum of (10) Business Days Ahead of Event(s) via Website, SpeaKING, Newspaper, E-Bulletins and Social Media

How Much

• (#) of active policy planning projects per year by type (major / minor)
• (%) of progress on active projects

How Well / Better Off  

• (%) of up-to-date core planning policies
• (%) of annual projects meeting statutory engagement standards

Service Performance Dashboard 

Municipal Law Enforcement

Enforcement of municipal by-laws and provincial statutes, including public education, complaint management, mediation, and investigations. Includes the management and administration of fines, orders, and escalation to courts where applicable.

• Reactive (complaints) and proactive (visible from patrol only) investigation and enforcement of community and property violations of Township By-laws
• By-law Enforcement Policy & Appendix

• High Priority (health and safety) acknowledged and investigated within (24) hours; enforcement within (7) business days
• Medium and Low Priority complaints acknowledged within (2) business days with expected follow up time provided
• Annual enforcement reports provided to Council

Parking Enforcement

Provision of reactive and proactive parking enforcement of on street and off-street parking by-laws. Includes the management and administration of parking tickets, appeals, exemption processes, first attendance hearings and adjudication services.

• Proactive (patrol) and reactive (complaints) for parking violation, intake and processing of complaints and parking ticket issuance
• Facilitate adjudication Screenings and setup hearing appointments
• Intake and processing of Parking Permit applications (exemption from applicable by-law violations)

• Screenings are reviewed and decision provided within (7) business days.
  • Reductions considered in accordance with AMPS
• Parking Permit applications are automatically processed based on pre-set criteria in compliance with the Parking By-law

Permits and Programs

Processing, issuance, and management of Sign Permits in compliance with the Township Signs by-laws.

• Sign Permits:
  • Ground (Inspection required)
  • Wall (Inspection required)
  • Mobile
  • Banner

• Complete Sign Permit applications processed within (5) business days

How Much

• (#) of by-law cases opened
• (#) of orders, pre-summons and notices issued
• (#) of parking ticket warnings and parking tickets issued
• (#) of sign permit applications processed

How Well

• (%) of sign permit applications processed within standard

Service Performance Dashboard 

Building Permits

Administrative management of the building permit process, permit applications, review for compliance with the Ontario Building Code and coordination of mandatory inspections. Includes the management and provision of property information requests and disclosure of information.

• Building Permits:
  • New homes and additions
  • Renovations and interior alterations
  • Deck
  • Tents
  • Demolition
  • Sewage systems
  • Accessory structure
  • Sewer connection and decommissioning
  • Water service and upgrades
  • Change of use
  • Model certification
  • Farm / Agricultural
• Administration and management of the Septic Inspection Program
• Property Information Request (PIR)
• Sewage System Information Request (SSIR)
• Property Compliance Letter 

• Building permit application receipt acknowledgement within (3) business days
• The following standards apply for processing complete permit applications:
  • Single Family, Semi-Detached, Townhouse or Row House and Related Accessory Structure [House]– (10) Business Days
  • Small Commercial and Industrial Buildings [Small Building]– (15) Business Days
  • Large Commercial, Industrial, Institutional Buildings, Multi-Story Residential Building [Large Building]– (20) Business Days
  • Large Complex Buildings or Multi-Story Residential Buildings More than 18 Meters Tall [Complex Building] – (30) Business Days
• *If at any point in the application process a building permit application is deemed incomplete, the service standards start again
• Information and compliance requests processed within (10) business days
• Monthly permit value reporting (king.ca)

Building Inspections

Enforcement and compliance monitoring of all aspects of the Ontario Building Code.

• 24/7 emergency on-call response
• As Built Plans Review
• On-site Inspections (permit holders, non-compliance, emergency)
• Inspections for septic program

• Inspections booked and completed within (2) business days of the request  
• Emergency complaints / requests responded to within (24) hours
• Response to construction without a permit (non-emergency) within (2) business days

How Much

• (#) of building permit applications received
• (#) of building permits issued
• (#) of inspections completed

How Well

• (%) of complete building permit applications processed within defined standards
• (%) of passed septic program inspections

Service Performance Dashboard 

Administrative and Construction Management

Administration of land development agreements, ensuring construction conforms to Township design standards, policies, and guidelines. Management of development related construction works including regular monitoring, site inspections, and regular reviews of unassumed subdivisions until the point of assumption by the Township.

• Subdivision Agreements
• Monitoring, oversight, and inspections on all development related construction projects
• Requests for final inspection for Maintenance Period from developer only (once as-built drawings submitted)
• Deficiency identifications and notification to developer for rectification
• Final inspection to Assumption completed upon receipt of revised As-Built drawings with rectified deficiencies
• Letter of Credit (LC) reduction and release processing
• Assumption of subdivision approval requests to Council and by-law registrations

• Pre-Construction meetings held minimum of (2) weeks in advance of construction commencement
• (2) year Maintenance Period prior to municipal assumption
• LC reduction processed within (15) business days from approval to move into Maintenance Period
• LC Release processed within (5) business days of assumption

Permits and Programs

Processing, issuance, and management of various development related permits in compliance with Township by-laws and provincial legislation.

• Intake, processing, and management of the following:
  • Pool Permits
  • Site Alteration Permits (Minor and Major)
  • Entrance (Curb Cuts and Culverts) Permits
  • Half Load Permits
  • Hard Landscaping Exemption Permits
• Coordination and scheduling of curb-cut and culvert installations associated with Entrance Permits + follow up inspections

• Service level standards for permitting applicable to complete applications
• Pool applications processed within (5) business days
• Minor Site Alteration applications processed within (3) weeks 
• Major Site Alteration applications processed within (5) weeks
• Entrance applications for curb-cuts & culverts processed within (1) week with an additional (4) weeks for construction completion
  • Construction season from May - October
• Half Load permit applications issued within (10) business days

How Much

• (#) of permit applications received and (#) of permits issued
• (#) of permit inspections completed
• (#) of developments (by stage at year end)

How Well

• (%) of complete permit applications meeting service level standards
• (%) of permit inspections resulting in minor variance or hard landscaping exemption requirement

Service Performance Dashboard