Planning Policies & Guidelines

Update: This page contains information about a project that is in development. Some of the guidelines hosted on this page are in effect and can be used, while others are not in effect and are posted to support review and commenting by impacted stakeholders. The What’s Next section below and the tabs of each phase contain more detailed information about the status of each collection of guidelines.

What are Development Application Guidelines?

Applications submitted for proposed developments typically include various studies, reports or other materials to support the review of the application. The requirement for submitting specific supplementary materials depends on the type of application and contextual factors. These requirements are set out in Schedule I of the Urban Hamilton Official Plan (UHOP) and Schedule H of the Rural Hamilton Official Plan (RHOP).

It is a common business practice for staff and approval authorities to provide guidelines, or terms of reference, to establish clear, consistent expectations for the contents and specifications of these supporting materials, in order to support consistent and clear administration of development applications.

The guidelines vary in their specific content to suit the relevant context, but each guideline typically includes a description of the purpose, content, preparation, and staff contacts for each supplementary study/material.

Providing Comments and Feedback

The Development Application Guidelines are technical in nature and are generally intended for use by staff, applicants and the applicants’ consultants. Accordingly, the individuals impacted most directly are industry professionals using the documents to support the preparation and submission of their application materials. The documents contain technical language and information to guide work in specialized fields, and as such, staff are primarily seeking feedback from industry professionals. If you have any comments, questions or feedback, please contact the project team via [email protected].