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The City reviews all proposed site plans to ensure new developments are well-designed, have enough water and waste water services, parking, and other on-site facilities, and to prevent new developments from having negative impacts on neighbouring properties.
The following application types can be submitted via the GPAS Portal.
- All pre-formal and formal applications and meetings are completed with the Site Plan Review Committee.
Do I Need Site Plan Approval?
Standard Site Plan Applications
The City must approve site plans for:
- Most new buildings or structures
- Additions or alterations to existing buildings which substantially increase a building’s size or usability
- Commercial parking lot layout
- Commercial or industrial buildings or structures on a farm
- Lodging houses, coach houses, garden suites, bed and breakfasts, group homes, residential care facilities, nursing homes
- Single-detached dwellings with a zero lot line
- Three or more mobile homes
Minor Site Plan Applications
Less complex applications can go through the minor site plan review process:
- Redeveloping existing buildings to add less than 50 per cent of the existing gross floor area
- Amending individual drawings for an approved site plan (e.g. landscape plan, elevations, etc.)
- Expanding existing parking lots to increase the number of spaces by no more than 50 per cent
- Sales trailers and sales pavilions for real estate sales
- Garden centers in parking lots
- Food vehicles located outside of a defined parking space
Site Plan Approval May Not Be Required for:
- Low-density residential developments, including single-detached and semi-detached dwellings
- Farm-related development including buildings and structures for agricultural use
- Buildings or structures used for flood control or conservation purposes
- The working areas of licensed pits or quarries
- Portable classrooms on a school board site
- Construction trailers on a construction site as defined in the Zoning Bylaw
- Exterior storage tanks, dust collectors and mechanical units
- Changes to exterior cladding and façade alterations
Before You Apply for a Building Permit
Contact the City’s site plan coordinator at 519-837-5616 or [email protected] to find out if your development requires site plan approval.