Zoning, land use and environmental approvals in Canada

A building that complies with every provision of the building code may still be illegal to build if the land use rules do not allow it. Before the building code question of how to build comes the planning question of what may be built where: which uses are allowed on the land, how tall and how large the building may be, how far it must be set back from the street and its neighbours, how much parking it needs, what it should look like in a heritage area, and whether the site is in a flood plain, near a wetland or on contaminated land. These rules are made and enforced separately from the building code, often by different departments and through longer and more political processes.

This lesson explains the Canadian land use planning system, zoning by-laws, site plan control, minor variances and rezonings, heritage protection and environmental approvals, with Ontario and British Columbia as examples. Construction managers rarely lead planning approvals, but they must understand them because they control the start date, constrain the design and attach conditions that affect construction.

The planning system

Land use planning in Canada is a provincial responsibility delegated largely to municipalities through provincial planning acts: Ontario's Planning Act, British Columbia's Local Government Act and Vancouver Charter, Alberta's Municipal Government Act and Quebec's Act respecting land use planning and development. The province sets policy, such as Ontario's Provincial Planning Statement, and municipalities prepare official plans, sometimes called official community plans or municipal development plans, that set out long-term land use policies. Zoning by-laws implement the plan with specific, legally binding rules for each property. Applications can be appealed to provincial tribunals, such as the Ontario Land Tribunal, in some cases.

Zoning by-laws

A zoning instrument divides the municipality into zones and states, for each zone, the permitted uses and the development standards. Typical standards include:

• Permitted uses: residential, commercial, industrial, institutional or mixed uses, sometimes with conditions.
• Height: maximum building height in metres, feet or storeys, sometimes with angular planes to protect neighbours from shadowing.
• Density: floor space index or floor area ratio (FAR), the ratio of gross floor area to lot area; or units per hectare or acre.
• Lot coverage: the maximum percentage of the lot covered by buildings.
• Setbacks or yards: minimum distances from the front, side and rear lot lines.
• Parking and loading: minimum (or, increasingly, maximum) numbers of parking spaces and loading bays, and bicycle parking.
• Landscaping, amenity space and other design standards.

The zoning definition of a term may differ from the building code definition. Height, storey, floor area and grade, for example, are often measured differently for zoning than for code purposes. Designers must check each set of rules with its own definitions.

Changing the rules: variances, rezonings and other approvals

When a proposal does not meet the zoning by-law, the owner can seek approval to depart from it. A minor variance, in Ontario granted by the committee of adjustment under section 45 of the Planning Act, permits small departures that meet four tests: the variance is minor, desirable for the appropriate development of the land, maintains the general intent and purpose of the official plan and maintains the general intent and purpose of the zoning by-law. A larger change needs a zoning by-law amendment, often called a rezoning, approved by council after public notice and a statutory public meeting, and may need an official plan amendment. British Columbia uses development variance permits and rezonings approved by council, and other provinces have similar tools. Recent provincial housing legislation in several provinces has reduced some approval steps for residential intensification, such as allowing additional dwelling units as of right.

These approvals take time: a minor variance or dimensional variance may take one to three months, while a rezoning can take a year or more and may be appealed. Construction managers should treat planning approval as the first major milestone in a development schedule and avoid committing to construction dates until approvals are final and appeal periods have expired.

Site plan control and development review

Many municipalities require site plan approval before a building permit can be issued for commercial, industrial, institutional and larger residential projects. Under Ontario's Planning Act section 41, site plan control lets the municipality review and approve the location of buildings, access and driveways, parking, landscaping, grading and drainage, lighting, garbage storage and the exterior design of buildings in some cases. Approval comes with a site plan agreement registered on title, which often requires the owner to post financial securities, such as letters of credit, for landscaping, servicing and road works. Recent Ontario legislation exempted most residential projects of ten units or fewer from site plan control. Subdivision of land into lots needs plan of subdivision approval with conditions for roads and services.

Conditions of site plan or development approval often reach into construction: hours of work, construction traffic routes, tree protection fencing, erosion and sediment control, protection of municipal property, and inspections by municipal engineering staff before securities are released. The construction manager should obtain the agreement or approval conditions and build them into the site logistics plan.

Heritage protection

Provinces protect heritage buildings and districts through heritage legislation, such as the Ontario Heritage Act, which allows municipalities to designate individual properties and heritage conservation districts. Altering or demolishing a designated property requires a heritage permit from the municipality, and many municipalities require heritage impact assessments for development near designated properties. At the federal level, national historic sites and federal heritage buildings have their own protections. The Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada set out widely used principles for conservation work. Heritage approval can add months to a project and constrain materials, windows and details.

Environmental approvals

Environmental laws at both levels of government affect construction sites. Federally, the Impact Assessment Act requires assessment of designated major projects, such as large mines and pipelines, though most buildings are not designated; the Fisheries Act prohibits harmful alteration of fish habitat without authorization, which matters for work near streams; and the Species at Risk Act protects listed species and their critical habitat. Provincially, environmental assessment acts cover public infrastructure projects; Ontario's conservation authorities regulate development in flood plains, wetlands and near shorelines and require permits; and provincial rules govern contaminated sites, such as Ontario's Record of Site Condition regulation, which requires a record before changing to a more sensitive use, such as industrial to residential. Excess soil regulations in Ontario control how soil removed from sites is managed and tracked. Stormwater management and erosion and sediment control are usually conditions of municipal approvals.

Other approvals and agreements

Projects often need further approvals and agreements: road occupancy permits for cranes, hoarding and lane closures; crane swing agreements with neighbours; encroachment agreements for tiebacks or shoring under adjacent land or streets; utility connection approvals; airport zoning approvals for tall buildings or cranes near airports; railway setbacks and approvals near rail lines; and noise by-law exemptions for extended work hours. Each has its own lead time. A construction manager's approvals log should track every approval, the responsible party, the submission date, the expected approval date and conditions.

Development charges, parkland dedication or cash in lieu, and community benefits charges in Ontario are payable before building permit issue in many cases, and can be a significant part of project cost. Provincial housing legislation since 2022 has reduced or deferred some of these charges for certain housing types.

A good approvals log is a living document. Review it at every owner meeting, update expected dates as reviews progress, and record every condition of approval with a responsible person and a deadline, such as a tree protection inspection before excavation or a landscaping security release after completion. Approvals that expire if work does not start within a stated time, such as some variances and permits, should be flagged clearly so that delays in financing or tendering do not cause them to lapse.