Development Applications

Approval Process for Uncontested Consent Applications 

• Limited to those developments that are in conformity with the applicable Zoning By-law and Official Plan)
• Delegated to Director of Planning and Development Services, or designate

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Approval Process for Contested Consent Applications or concurrent Minor Variance Applications

• Delegation limited to those developments that are in conformity with the applicable Zoning By-law and Official Plan
• Delegated to Committee of Adjustment

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At a very early stage of a proposal, Planning Staff are also available for an “Information Meeting”. This is a less formal meeting, usually one-on-one with a Town Planner on your development concept or idea. This meeting does not take the place of the required pre-consultation meeting for some applications. The Planner can provide high level feedback on the general concept or idea. Detailed comments, including complete application requirements, will NOT be provided.

Please make a request for an Information Meeting by completing the Information Meeting Form.

The Town requires “pre-consultation” through a formal meeting with proponents and Planning Staff on all applications for:

• Official Plan Amendment
• Zoning By-law Amendment
• Site Plan Control
• Draft Plan of Subdivision and Condominium

The purpose of the pre-consultation meeting is to identify all required information to be submitted to the Town as part of a complete application file. Proponents should have a detailed understanding of their project and be able to provide a project overview, site plan and any completed studies in support of the application.  Pre-consultation does not imply support of Town Staff or The Blue Mountains of any application.

To arrange a formal Pre-consultation, please complete the Pre-Consultation Application Form. 

Applications can be picked up at the Town Office, by contacting Planning Services, or by visiting Permits, Applications & Licences page.

The application, required fee, plans and studies are submitted to the Town’s Planning Division and assigned to Planning Staff for oversight. Planning staff will act as project lead throughout the Planning approval stage.

A list of fees required by the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority is available online. For any questions regarding GSCA fees, please contact them directly: https://www.greysauble.on.ca/contact-us/

After reviewing Application Submission, and prior to further processing, the application is reviewed in detail by the assigned staff to ensure it is complete. Staff then advise the applicant if the application does not meet the requirements and if other information is required. It is important to note that the Planning Act approval target timelines for applications will not commence until the submission requirements and any information or materials required to process the application are submitted by the applicant.

For applications that are determined to be large and mid-scale or have a greater impact on the community, Planning staff, through consultation with the Director of Planning and Development Services, the CAO and the Mayor, will prepare an informational report to the Committee of the Whole and encourage the applicant to prepare a presentation to the Committee to give them a "heads up" about the application.

Other applications not requiring a “Council Information Report and Presentation” would proceed to Step Five.

The technical circulation and public notification of the application noted in Step Five may be delayed until after the Information Report or Major Design Decision to allow for changes to be made to the application

The assigned Planning staff circulates the application to Town and County staff, various public bodies and other internal and external technical agencies. At the same time, the application is sent to community organizations in the affected area.

A Public Notice containing a brief description of the proposed development with a location map and plans, where applicable, is circulated to neighbouring properties and posted on the Town’s website. A period of 20 days from the date of the mailing of the notice is provided for comments to be submitted to the assigned staff.

Site Plan Control Approval, under the delegated authority of the Director of Planning and Development Services is only circulated to Town and County staff and technical agencies for comments.

Planning and Development Services staff work with the applicant, Council, community organizations, and the general public to resolve issues and problems identified with the application. It is important to point out, however, that not all concerns may be resolved during this stage, and, in some cases, the differences between the proponent and the public may be too great to resolve.

Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments, Plans of Condominium, Plans of Subdivision, and Consents are subject to statutory public meetings as required by the Planning Act. Such meetings will be held at Council meetings. For minor variance, consent to sever and sign variance applications, meetings and decisions are delegated to the Committee of Adjustment.

A listing of the reports to be considered by the Committee of the Whole is posted on the Town’s website in advance of the public meeting. Notice of the application and of the public meeting will typically involve sending a notice to all property owners within 120 meters of the proposed subdivision, all affected community organizations, and the posting of an on-site sign at least 14 days before the meeting. Staff may also place advertisements in the local newspaper.

For Town-wide or area-wide amendments (either Official Plan Amendments or Zoning By-law Amendments) advertising will be undertaken in local newspapers and on the Town’s website.

Members of the public can attend the Committee of the Whole meeting or send a written submission. At the Committee meeting, representatives of community organizations and the general public can address the Committee to outline their concerns or support for the application.

Once the Committee of the Whole has made a decision on a development application that requires Town Council approval, their recommendations are forwarded to Council for a final decision.

Grey County is the approval authority for the Town-wide Official Plan and Secondary Plans, Official Plan Amendments, Plans of Condominium and Plans of Subdivision within the Town. The Town Clerk will advise the applicant and Grey County of Council's recommendations respecting these types of approvals. These approvals also often include Draft Plan Approval and conditions that need to be satisfied prior to final plan registration.

For Zoning By-law Amendments, if a by-law is passed by Town Council, notice of the passage is undertaken within 15 days either by mail to landowners within 120 meters of the site, plus other persons or community organizations who made verbal or written submissions at the Committee or by advertising in local newspapers.

Most Site Plan approvals have been delegated to the Director of Planning and Development Services. Such approvals may contain conditions that must be fulfilled before final Site Plan approval is granted. Most Site Plan approvals also include a Site Plan agreement and financial securities.

For most applications, the applicant, owners and any person or public body that requested to be notified will be notified of the decision within 15 days and have 20 days to appeal the decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments

If Grey County approves the amendment and no appeals are received after notification of their decision, the Official Plan or Zoning By-law Amendment comes into effect.

Plans of Condominium and Subdivision

If Grey County approves the plan and no appeals are received after notification of the draft approval of the Plan of Condominium or Subdivision, the owner must satisfy the conditions of draft approval.

When the conditions have been cleared, the subdivision agreement signed and securities posted, the Plan of Condominium or Subdivision is ready for final approval. Grey County gives Final Approval and the plan is registered.

Site Plan Control

If a registered agreement or Letter of Undertaking is required, the owner initiates the preparation by contacting the assigned staff and usually has six months to sign these documents and provide all the securities and fees prior to the issuance of a building permit.

Upon completion of the development, the owner may request an inspection for partial release of the securities. The balance of the securities will be released once the work has been completed to the Town's satisfaction.

Site Plan Control applies to the property until a request is made to release the agreement. For approval with Letters of Undertaking, Site Plan Control remains in effect until all the securities have been released.

Development Review Committee

The Town’s Development Review Committee is an informal review panel comprised mainly of Town staff members with technical expertise in such disciplines as;

• Land-use planning
• Civil engineering
• Building construction review
• Fire prevention
• Community parks
• Solid waste disposal

The Development Review Committee typically reviews and provides comment and guidance on such matters as Pre-Consultation, Site Plan Control, Plans of Subdivision/Condominium, Zoning By-law Amendments and Official Plan Amendment applications.

The Development Review Committee is not a formal standing committee of Council, and no member of Council sits as a member.  A Development Review Committee meeting is not a statutory public meeting or open house within the meaning of the Planning Act.  Attendance at a Development Review Committee meeting is reserved for Town staff members, the applicants and their agents.  

Meeting Dates

The schedule below is for information purposes only.  The Town will attempt to assign the meeting dates to complete applications received by the corresponding deadlines. However, meeting agendas can be subject to a maximum number of applications. Where the number of received applications exceeds the available agenda space, those applications will be assigned to the next available meeting date.  Applications will be assigned a meeting date based on the order of receipt, and upon confirmation that the application is deemed a complete submission.