To develop in the City of Vaughan it must comply with the Official Plan and zoning by-law amendments and site plan approval. All planning decisions by the Council of Ontario must be consistent with or conform to the Provincial Policy Statement, Places to Grow Act and area specific plans, the Greenbelt Act and Plan and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan where applicable.
In order to make the application for your development easier, we’ve listed the steps you need to take in order to get your development project going and explain how and when Simple Sign can help facilitate this process for you.
How to Apply for a Development Permit in Vaughan
Step 1: Attend a Pre-Application Consultation
A pre-application consultation with the Planning department is required before a formal application submission to determine required studies that must accompany the application. The application can then be submitted to the Planning department to help establish the issues particular to the application and information needed to complete it.
This meeting is beneficial for both the applicant and the City as it allows for any discrepancies in the application to be addressed before the process begins, increasing the likelihood of a efficient review and approval.
Step 2: Submit Application
After submitting your development application, you are required to pay the associated fee that is required. Additionally, the associated Tariff of Fees for Planning Applications By-law is required.
The city planner that is assigned to your application will send a letter of acknowledgement on your file number, and indicating and additional steps that need to be taken in your application. The city will also send a “notice of complete application” within 30 days of receipt if the requirements are met. If the application is deemed to be incomplete, the City will send a “notice of incomplete action” indicating the needed action on your side. Until the requirements are met, no further action will be taken by the city in your application process.
Step 3: Complete PAC process and Agreement.
During the pandemic, the City of Vaughan has also developed a digital process that allows for applications to be reviewed while the office is closed. Before submitting the Development Planning Application, applicant should ensure that they have gone through the PAC process and a PAC Agreement if applicable.
The electronic application is received and forwarded to the Planning Technician directly with the associated cheques for the application mailed in. A copy of the scanned cheque and the Planner’s email verifying the fee is to be included in the electronic submission.
All paper submissions or hard copies associated with the electronic application are also required as soon as possible. The applicant will then confirm with the Development Engineering Development on the Site Plan Application Engineering Review Fee and Grading Inspection Fee prior to submission of payment.
Step 4: Install Development Signage
A sign must then be erected on site advising the public that the application has been submitted to the City.
At this point, the City will request for the applicant to install one or more development application signs on their property that notifies other landowners and community members of your plans, and that an application has been submitted.
The City will inform the applicant an outline of how many signs are required and also the exact text which should be included on the development application sign(s). This process often means dealing with the hassles approval, dealing with sign shops and the annoyance of building frames to display your signs properly.
The team at Simple Sign can use this letter from the city planner to create the graphic design for the sign and install the development sign quickly and at a competitive price point.
Simple Sign is also able to proof any development sign information to ensure it meets requirements and submit sign information directly to the City for approval.
We guarantee the installation of development signs within 3 business days, removing the burden of handling signage design and installation from your busy schedule.
Step 5: Application Review & Public Hearing
The City staff will review all supporting material submitted with the application with consideration from the comments made by the public or interested agencies. The staff may request for additional information if the review requires it to make a more clear judgement, which is then reviewed by the War Councillor. Once all issues are resolved and the application is deemed satisfactory, the Development Planning department and other departments will prepare a report which will be sent to the Committee of the Whole which will either approved or denied.
All groups that may have an interest in this application will be given the opportunity for review and or comments, which will then be sent for a formal vote to approve, amend or refuse application made by the Committee as a recommendation to Council. The Council’s decision may be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) by any party within 20 days after formal notice of a decision. If there are no objections, the decision of the OMB becomes final, and future appeals must go through the court on the basis of OMB making an error in law or exceeding its power.
Step 6: Issuance of Development Permit
After all of the requirements for your project have been met if you had a conditional approval, a development permit will be granted for your project.
