Development Applications

• Official Plan Amendment;
• Zoning By-law Amendment;
• Draft Plan of Subdivision
• Draft Plan of Condominium (on a site by site basis);
• Site Plan Control (on a site by site basis);
• Consent (on a site by site basis); and
• Minor Variance (on a site by site basis).

• Provide a clear understanding of the proposal;
• Provide an opportunity at the outset to establish why the proposal should be considered and approved;
• Highlight information specific or particular to the proposal (i.e., special history, different circumstances); and
• Assist civic officials in undertaking their analysis and preparing reports on the application.

• Description of the proposal, overview, major statistics (i.e., height, density, parking), relevant phasing issues, site and contextual considerations;

• Required approvals and their sequencing (e.g., Zoning, Site Plan Control, Consent, Condominium);
• Site description and surrounding land uses, context and built form, including planned developments;
• Site’s planning history such as pre-consultation, previous approvals, legislative references, appeal history and relevant authorities (e.g., Site Plan Control Agreements, site specific zoning, etc.) with copies of relevant documents;
• Indication of intended tenure (e.g. rental, freehold, condominium, etc.);
• Discussion of parkland dedication;
• Summary of other supporting reports and studies prepared in support of the application(s);
• Discussion of the following:
• Relevant Planning Act provisions and regulations;
• Relevant Provincial Planning Statement policies;
• Relevant Official Plan, Part II Plan and Secondary Plan policies including information/rationale as to how and why each is being addressed by the proposal;
• Relevant Zoning By-law information, areas of compliance and non-compliance and why; and,
• Discussion of how the proposal will address any other relevant City planning studies or guidelines;
• Rationale for all proposed site-specific provisions; including design precedents, inspirations and/or examples of similar developments;
• Analysis and opinion as to why the proposal is good planning, including issues of impact;
• Public consultation strategy (as per applicable Ontario Regulation);
• Summary and conclusions;
• A draft Official Plan amendment and/or Zoning By-law amendment, as applicable; and
• Appendices/Maps/Plans.

The Policy and Planning Analysis section is the most important part of the Planning Justification Report, as it is the basis for establishing why a proposal should be considered for approval by the City of Oshawa.

The Policy and Planning Analysis section must provide an outline of applicable planning policy documents and the regulatory contexts, quoting specific policies that are relevant to the proposal. The analysis must establish a planning basis for the application(s) by providing a detailed analysis, including a rationale and opinion, of the identified relevant policies and demonstrate thorough discussion and understanding of the required content described above.

The following documents must be addressed, where they are applicable to a submitted application. This includes all land use policies in force and effect at the time of the submission of any application.

Provincial Policy and Legislation:

• Provincial Planning Statement;
• Greenbelt Plan;
• Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan; and
• Any other applicable provincial plan.

• Oshawa Official Plan;
• Secondary Plans and Part II Plans;
• Subwatershed Studies and Subwatershed Impact Studies;
• Master Plans;
• Environmental Assessments;
• Master Environmental Service Plans;
• Council adopted Guidelines and/or Studies; and,
• Applicable provisions in the City’s Zoning By-law.

• Applications for Residential Uses:
  • Applications that propose residential uses must provide an analysis of the proposed densities and unit counts compared to the requirements in applicable policy documents. Detailed explanations of why any of the provisions in the current parent zone that are not being complied with are not suitable for the development. Significant departures from the parent zone requirements and provisions and/or density and housing mix provisions will require greater discussion and documentation of appropriateness.
• Documents under Appeal:
  • In some cases policy documents or zoning by-laws affecting the subject lands may have been adopted or approved by Council, but are under appeal. In these cases, the documents are not in effect, but may be relevant to the proposal. All Planning Justification Reports should address the policies in these documents as part of the Policy Analysis and identify if changes would be needed if the document or by-law were in effect.
• Applications for Conversion from Rental Tenure to Condominium Ownership:
  • All applications for Draft Plan of Condominium, which propose to convert a building from rental tenure to condominium ownership require the submission of a Planning Justification Report. In addition to providing a site context and a description of the proposal, the report shall provide a detailed analysis addressing the criteria for rental conversions as set out in Official Plans and provincial planning documents. A detailed assessment is required of the current vacancy rates in the applicable market(s), the impacts of the proposed conversion to those rates, and the maintenance of the required rental housing thresholds.
• Planning Analysis:
  • The planning analysis is intended to provide a rationale and opinion as to why the proposal is appropriate, in terms of how the proposal addresses “good planning principles”. For example, this may include a discussion of how the proposal provides beneficial social, cultural, economic or environmental outcomes; how the proposal contributes to creating complete, vibrant communities; and/or how potential negative impacts have been avoided and/or mitigated. A thorough and comprehensive assessment of all relevant and appropriate planning policies at the local, regional and provincial levels is required. The “cherry picking” of policies to advance a specific position or argument is not appropriate and may result in the application being deemed incomplete.
  • Specifically, the planning analysis should include discussion on the relevant hierarchical planning criteria found within the Oshawa Official Plan Section 2 Land Use Policies, including, but not limited to, Central Areas, Corridors, Transportation Hubs and Commuter Stations, etc., which may be applicable alongside the policies of the underlying land use designation.

• To hire a professional planning consultant, consult the Ontario Professional Planners Institute's directory
• Envision Durham - Region of Durham
• Oshawa Official Plan
• City of Oshawa Zoning By-law 60-94