The City of Vaughan has one Zoning By-law for the City. The Zoning By-law 1-88 (PDF) establishes the standards of development within the city by regulating matters such as the use of land, location, height, size, floor area, parking, spacing of buildings, etc.

Professional zoning examiners are available to assist you in the interpretation of Zoning By-law 1-88. Staff may be contacted in the Building Standards Department at Vaughan City Hall at 905-832-2281.

Before submitting an application to amend Zoning By-law 1-88, the owner and/or agent must attend a pre-application consultation (PDF) meeting with the Development Planning Department. The purpose of this meeting is for the owner and/or agent to present a proposal and for City staff to identify, on a preliminary basis only, the required information for a complete submission of a Zoning By-law Amendment Application.

 

A pre-application consultation is helpful to both the applicant and the City as it ensures applications are processed efficiently and establishes the requirements for the submission of a complete application.

When a Zoning By-law Amendment Application (PDF) is submitted, a fee is required in accordance with the applicable Tariff of Fees for Planning Applications By-law (PDF).

 

The planner assigned to the file will send an acknowledgment letter to the owner advising of the file number, and setting out any additional requirements to be completed by the landowner. In addition, the City is required to send a "Notice of Complete Application" within 30 days of receipt of the application, if all the application requirements are satisfied. If all the application requirements are not satisfied, a "Notice of Incomplete Application" will be sent to the applicant and processing of the application will not commence until the application requirements are fully satisfied. The application will be circulated to all internal departments and external agencies as affected.

 

A typical Zoning By-law Amendment Application requires approximately four to six months to complete, depending on complexity. The process period commences once a complete application is received. If the Zoning By-law Amendment Application is approved, an additional surcharge fee is required.

Upon receipt of a complete Zoning By-law Amendment Application, a public hearing will be scheduled. A notice of the public hearing will be circulated by the City to all land owners within a minimum of 150 metres of the subject property and a minimum of 20 days before the Public Hearing. The owner, or his/her agent, must attend this meeting to make a brief presentation of the proposal before Vaughan Council, and to respond to any questions from Vaughan Council or the public.

After the public hearing, typically a minimum of eight to 12 weeks is required to assess the application and receive comments and conditions from circulated parties. The Development Planning Department will prepare a technical report with a recommendation to the Committee of the Whole. The Committee of the Whole recommendation is forwarded to the following Vaughan Council meeting for approval.

 

If approved, a Zoning By-law is prepared by the Development Planning Department and forwarded to Vaughan Council for approval. If the application is refused, the Owner may appeal Vaughan Council's decision to the Ontario Municipal Board within 20 days of the date of the "Notice of Decision" from the Office of the City Clerk.

After the Zoning By-law is passed, a "Notice of Decision" is mailed to landowners within 150 metres and required agencies by the Office of the City Clerk. This initiates a 20-day Appeal period within which anyone can appeal the enacted Zoning By-law to the Ontario Municipal Board. If no appeals have been received before the appeal period expires (20 days from the date of the "Notice of Decision"), a final "Notice of Decision" is mailed and the Zoning By-law is deemed to have come into effect on the day of passing.

 

The planner assigned to the file will send an acknowledgment letter to the owner advising of the file number, and setting out any additional requirements to be completed by the landowner.

A typical Zoning By-law Amendment Application to remove a Holding Symbol (H) requires approximately two to three months to complete, depending on complexity. The process period commences once a complete application is received.

The planner will review the existing conditions associated with the removal of the Holding Symbol (H) to ensure that all conditions have been satisfied. After confirmation that the existing conditions have been satisfied, the planner will prepare a by-law to remove the Holding Symbol (H). The by-law will be circulated to City staff for review and approval prior to being scheduled for a City of Vaughan Council meeting. The Planner will prepare a "Notice of Intention to Enact a By-law to Remove the Holding Symbol (H)". This notice will be circulated to all adjacent property owners of the property to which the Holding Symbol (H) applies. City of Vaughan Council will either enact or refuse the by-law to remove the Holding Symbol (H).