Planning and Development

Whether you're looking for a re-zoning, variance, official plan amendment, or site plan control approval, Development Planning facilitates these types of applications that are made under the Planning Act. Check out our brochures below to learn more about each process:

• Committee of Adjustment (Variances & Severances)
• Official Plan / Zoning By-Law Amendment
• Site Plan Control
• Plan of Subdivision

We've got you covered! Pre-Consultation meetings and Applications made under the Planning Act can be facilitated online!

Pre-Consultation Meetings with Planning staff for larger scale development proposals are scheduled on the second and fourth Thursday mornings of the month, and conducted utilizing video and/or teleconferencing technology.  

Please note that the County of Brant continues to experience a high number of pre-consultation requests, and in an effort to manage current and future development applications, pre-consultation meetings for the months of May to August will only proceed once a month. 

Please contact planning@brant.ca for further assistance. 

Click here to view our pre-consultation request form.

Planning Act Applications can now be sent to planning@brant.ca for consideration.

Click here to view and fill out our general planning application form.

The Planning Department will contact applicants and consultants to let them know if any further documentation is required and/or that the application is deemed complete.  Staff will also confirm fees and describe methods of payment (which now include an option to pay on-line or through the drop box) individually and prior to statutory public meeting.  

If you cannot electronically submit your application please use the drop box located outside the front door at 66 Grand River St. N., Paris. Please be advised that paper copy submissions will be subject to a 2 day 'quarantine' period before staff are able to review the submission. 

The County of Brant will continue to adjust its operations according to the recommendation of Health Authorities. Any further changes or updates will be provided through the County of Brant’s website (www.brant.ca/news) and social media accounts @BrantCommunity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

The best thing to do is to contact the Building Division in order to find out what is required to get your project started.

For basic projects, check out the Building and Construction webpage for some further information about building permit requirements, fees, and timelines, or contact us at building@brant.ca for further assistance.

For larger scale proposals involving commercial, industrial, or high density residential uses, there may be requirements for Site Plan Control on the property. Visit our Site Plan Control page for more information on this particular process or contact Development Planning Staff at 519-44BRANT or planning@brant.ca for assistance.  

How do I find out the zoning of my property?

The best place to start is at www.brant.ca/zoning where we have an interactive mapping application that will let you search an address and see what zone codes might apply to the property. 

There is also a copy of the full zoning By-Law at this webpage that can help you determine what requirements might apply to your building projects. 

• If you have questions about zoning as it would be related to setbacks and size requirements for building or renovating, please contact building@brant.ca
• If you have questions about zoning to see what uses are permitted on a property, apply for a re-zoning, find out about a development potential, or similar inquiry, please contact planning@brant.ca for assistance. 

Where can I request a Building and Planning Compliance Certificate?

If you're looking for information regarding Planning Policy or Building Code compliance, generally requested during the due-diligence process for a purchase and sale agreement, this request can be made online at the Request a Building and Planning Compliance Certificate link.

Please be sure to include an up-to-date survey if compliance information regarding a specific structure is being sought. Please also be advised that these requests can take upwards of 10 business days to be completed. A link to the full building and planning certificate for printing purposes can be found here. The current 2021 fee for this request is $257.00, taxes exempt. 

For compliance information regarding a specific land-use on a property, please specify the use in question and provide legal paperwork showing the date of establishment of the particular use (licenses, sworn affidavit, previous variances, etc.). Otherwise, please contact planning@brant.ca for information on how to request a Third Party Compliance letter about a specific land-use on a property. 

Where can I find more information about the developments happening in the County of Brant?

The Planning Division has an 'Active Applications' page with further information on applications for development within the County. This page includes information about ongoing and approved Subdivision developments and Condominium developments, as well as information about requested changes and amendments to the County's Zoning By-Law and Official Plan, and Applications that have been Appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). Applications that go before the Committee of Adjustment, including severances and minor variances, can also be found on the 'Active Applications' Page. Click on the link to the general 'active applications' page below, or on one of the specific categories, to be taken to the applicable information.   

• Active Development Applications
• Committee of Adjustment
• Plans of Subdivision
• Plans of Condominium
• LPAT / OMB Appeals

Is the County of Brant updating its Official Plan?

Yes ! The Government of Ontario has requirements for municipalities to update their planning policies within a certain timeframe, and the time has come for the County of Brant to update its Official Plan.

The process to create #ASimplyGrandPlan is underway, and more information can be found on the New Official Plan page. 

If you'd like to see what the current Official Plan says about land use planning in the County of Brant, check out the webpage for the County's current Official Plan, passed by Council in 2012. 

The Official Plan is the policy document that outlines the County's general land use planning policies. Further to the OP, other policies and studies are undertaken in order to compliment and further implement the requirements of the County's Official Plan. To find out more about studies that are underway for large scale development proposals, visit the Area Studies webpage for more information. 

What am I allowed to do on my property?

Many of the permissions for buildings and land use on particular properties are determined by the Zoning By-Law. The County's current Zoning By-Law 61-16 has requirements for such things as parking, lot coverage, setbacks from property lines, and requirements in naturally sensitive areas of the County. 

If you'd like to find out the zoning of a property, please visit our Zoning By-Law webpage.

The Schedule 'A' mapping of the document will show you the specific zone categories as they apply to the properties within the County of Brant. You can also use the interactive mapping to search an address in the County of Brant. The full text of the Zoning By-Law has further information on the permissions and requirements of each zone category and zone code, as well as general requirements for certain uses and structures. 

If you have further questions about this information, do not hesitate to contact Planning Staff for further assistance. 

Can I have a shipping container on my property?

Shipping containers, or similar storage structures like moving boxes, sea cans, or other common portable storage structures, can be an affordable and creative alternative to typical building construction, and are used for a variety of purposes. These types of structures are regulated by the County of Brant's Zoning By-Law.

We will be considering updates to these policies in the near future, but in the meantime the following information will help you determine if you are permitted a container structure on your property.

One (1) permanent shipping container structure is permitted on a property if it is in one of the following zones. To determine the zoning of your property, visit our interactive zoning map to search for your property.

• Agricultural (A) Zone
• Agricultural Employment (AE) Zone
• General Commercial (C2) Zone
• Automotive Commercial (C6) Zone
• Employment (M) Zones and
• Resource Extractive (EX) Zone

A shipping container in these zones must comply with the property's zone provisions for a principal structure as well,

• Must only be used for storage purposes accessory to the permitted uses of the property
• If it exceeds 10 square metres in area, the structure requires a Building Permit, and
• Will require a visual barrier that is at least 1.8m (6 feet) in height, located within 3.0m of the structure (9.8ft), to shield the view of the structure from your neighbours and from the street, in accordance with Section 4.19 of the County's Zoning By-Law.

If you need a container for moving or renovating purposes, It is permitted for a maximum of 4 months of the calendar year and must meet the setback, size and height requirements for an accessory structure in your zone (Table 4.1 of the Zoning By-Law). Please also contact our building division to determine what is needed to safely place the structure on your property. 

I'm building a home in a rural area and I need an MDS 1 Calculation. Where do I start?

Minimum Distance Seperation (or MDS) is a land use planning tool development by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The intent of MDS is to prevent land use conflicts and minimize nuisance complaints from odour in agricultural areas. We must protect our Agricultural lands from harmful development, and as a result we require an MDS 1 calculation for the construction of a new or replacement dwelling outside of a settlement area in the County of Brant. 

MDS provides a sample Calculation Form in Section 6 of their MDS Document, which can be found at this link. The preferred method for calculating MDS setbacks is to use the software provided by OMAFRA, but the linked document can assist with the steps to complete a calculation for your project. It is the responsibility of the applicant to complete this calculation and provide it as part of the building permit application submission. You may need to engage the services of a land use planning consultant or nutrient management consultant to undertake the MDS calculation on your behalf. 

MDS 1 measurements are taken as the shortest distance between the proposed building to be constructed and either the manure storages, or anaerobic digesters, or the livestock occupied portions of the livestock barns. Please also note that in some cases a barn that is empty but may be suitable to house livestock in the future should be included in your assessment of neighbouring farm operations. For more information on Minimum Distance Seperation guidelines and what is required, please visit the OMAFRA website at OMAFRA.gov.on.ca or view the MDS Publication provided by OMAFRA. 

I need a grading plan for my project. What does that mean?

With certain projects in the County of Brant, like building a new house, you'll require a grading plan to be prepared by a qualified professional and submitted to County staff for review. This is done when you apply for your building permit, at which time you'd be informed if a grading plan is needed for your project or not.

A grading plan will generally show existing topographic grading information around your project, the location of all stormwater management features (like infiltration galleries, soakaway pits, etc.), the location of the septic system, and the proposed grading design in accordance with the County of Brant Development and Engineering Standards. It is prepared and stamped by a qualified professional, like an Ontario Land Surveyor or Professional Engineer, and submitted with your Building Permit application. Our Field Services staff will be able to assist you if you have questions about getting your grading plan prepared. Please reach out to them at grading@brant.ca or by calling 519-44BRANT for assistance. 

What is the Ontario Heritage Act and how can it help us protect our built heritage?

The Ontario Heritage Act was enacted by the Province to give municipalities the power to designate, preserve, and protect the cultural and built heritage of Ontario. There are a number of tools available to a municipality that can be used to work with property owners to preserve significant features.

If your property has been designated as a heritage property under the Ontario Heritage Act, there will be a By-Law registered on the title of the lands that will explain which heritage features are protected on the property. The County of Brant has a Heritage Committee that works to promote and preserve the built and cultural heritage of the County of Brant, as well as advise Council on Heritage related matters.

Further information on Heritage Preservation in the County can be found by visiting our Heritage Planning & Preservation webpage, or by contacting staff at planning@brant.ca. 

A housekeeping amendment is just as it implies; it's a clean-up of the document done from time to time that helps address inconsistencies, errors and/or omissions. The housekeeping amendment is compiled by staff to help keep the zoning by-law up-to-date with our Official Plan and any updates that may be required because of changes in Provincial Legislation. Staff also keeps track of what is and isn't working well with the implementation of the By-Law to propose changes that will assist with how people use land in the County. 

The County's next housekeeping project was approved by the Planning and Development Committee at the April 6, 2021 meeting and will go to council at the end of April for ratification. Please visit www.brant.ca/PDC/Housekeeping to view the proposed changes. If you have questions or comments on the project, please email policy@brant.ca or contact Planning Staff using the contact methods at the bottom of this page.  

To view the dedicated webpage for this project, please follow this link or visit www.brant.ca/ARU. 

Want to add an additional residential unit to your property? Check out our handy guide to help you with your project.

www.brant.ca/ARUGuide

To view the dedicated webpage for this project, please follow this link or visit www.brant.ca/Trees.

Did you know the County of Brant has a Tree Conservation By-Law that regulates the damage and removal of trees in the County? The current By-Law was passed in 2007 and the time has come to review the document and make some changes.

If you have questions of comments about this project, please do not hesitate to contact Environmental Planner, Michelle Schaefle, to see how you can get involved with the Trees Conservation By-Law review and more. 

The County of Brant has recently updated its zoning requirements regarding Cannabis production and processing. If you are considering growing or producing commercial or medical cannabis, please contact planning@brant.ca or by way of the contact information for the Planning Division provided at the bottom of this page to find out more information on the requirements in the County of Brant. 

To view information more general information on the legalization of cannabis in Canada and the County of Brant, please visit our webpage at www.brant.ca/Cannabis. This page includes information about healthy and safety, the County's cannabis retail policy, and the County of Brant Council's decisions regarding cannabis. 

1. This recent zoning update was brought forward to Council for information and feedback on Tuesday, August 4th, 2020. This information meeting can be viewed on the County's Youtube page at this link. 
   
2. To read the information report to Council, please follow this link.
3. The changes were approved by Council on November 3rd, 2020 by By-Law 125-20 (amending Comprehensive Zoning By-Law 61-16) and are now in full force and effect. 

 To view the entire Comprehensive Zoning By-Law, please visit www.brant.ca/zoning. To schedule a pre-consultation meeting with Planning Staff, please email planning@brant.ca or contact our office using the information at the bottom of this webpage. We look forward to hearing from you!

To view the dedicated webpage for this project, please follow this link or visit www.brant.ca/OFDUS. 

We've been looking at ways to diversify the uses permitted in our agricultural areas. This will help boost our agricultural economy and will work to protect the farmland that is so important to the identity of the County of Brant.

For more information on this project, click the following link to visit www.brant.ca/OFDU or email planning@brant.ca for assistance.