Planning Department

Public Notice: Under the Planning Act, information and material required respecting planning applications shall be made available to the public. For more information, please refer to the Township's Routine Disclosure - Planning Applications Guidelines.

Also be advised that the minutes of public meetings (hearings) are made available on the municipal website for public viewing and may be circulated throughout the Township and/or to parties requesting a copy of the minutes. Anyone who attends a public meeting of the Township and enters their name on the attendance list or speaks publicly at the meeting may have their name and any opinions they may express recorded in the minutes of that specific meeting.

If an individual has a concern with respect to information being made available to the public, please advise the Clerk, at 705-656-4445 Ext. 234.

Processing of your application will take a minimum of 90 days upon receipt of a complete application, including all information that is required and assuming no complications arise. 

Archaeological Assessments

 Please note that through recent consultation with Curve Lake First Nation (CLFN), it has been suggested that archaeological assessments may be required for development on waterfront properties. You will need to complete the attached checklist from the Province for evaluating archaeological potential to determine whether an archaeological assessment is required. This checklist needs to be submitted with any application submitted. Should you determine that an archaeological assessment is required, we would encourage follow up discussion with the Township and Curve Lake to confirm specific requirements.

 https://forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en/dataset/021-0478

Upon submitting an Application for a Zoning By-law Amendment, the township suggests that the Applicant contact all neighbours of the subject land, relevant Ministries and other agencies to inform them of your plans.

Upon receipt of a complete Application for an Amendment to the Zoning By-law, your application will be forwarded to the Township Planner for processing.

A Public Meeting shall be scheduled, under the regulations of the Planning Act, after the application has been deemed complete by the Township Planner and Township Planning Department.

The Planning Act prescribes that a Notice of the Public Meeting shall be given at least 20 days before the day of the Meeting by prepaid first class mail to all property owners within 120 metres of the subject property and to the appropriate agencies. It is also required to post a Notice of Public Meeting on the subject property.

Public Meetings are currently being held in a Hybrid format.   You may attend in person, electronically or by phone (using the zoom invitation available on the agenda) It is recommended that the applicant attend the meeting or have someone else represent you.    Meetings are audio and video recorded and posted on the Township YouTube channel as soon as possible after the meeting for public viewing.  

All written submissions will be presented at the Public Meeting. Anyone in attendance will be given the opportunity to speak in support of or in opposition to the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment. If there is no opposition to the Zoning By-law Amendment submitted at the time of the Public Meeting then Council may pass the By-law later in the meeting or at a subsequent meeting of Council.

There is a 20 day appeal period from the date of the Notice of Passing being mailed. Only the applicant or a person or public body who, before the By-law was passed, made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to council may appeal the By-law to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

If Council refuses or neglects to make a decision on the By-law within 120 days the applicant may appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

If no appeal is received within the 20 day appeal period, the By-law becomes effective on the date of passage.

• Comprehensive Zoning By-Law 2013-0026 (Consolidated July 2020)
  • Housekeeping By-Law 2023-0001
  • Housekeeping By-Law 2019-0057
• Boathouse By-Law 2019-0095
• Dock By-Law 2019-0078
• Second Dwelling Unit By-law 2019-0016
  • Application to License a Secondary Dwelling
• Shipping Container By-Law 2021-0096
• Tourist Trailer By-Law 2021-0097

Peterborough County Official Plan

An Official Plan sets policies for guiding proper land use and development in the community. The Official Plan outlines where residential, industrial and commercial areas are contemplated. The County of Peterborough Official Plan functions as the lower tier Official Plan for the Township as well as two other municipalities in the County. When Peterborough County undertakes the preparation of the Official Plan, they utilize input from the Township Councils, the public, ministries and other agencies and the Official Plan shall be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement. A copy of the Official Plan is available on the Peterborough County Website.

The County's new Official Plan was originally adopted by County Council in June 2022. It has been with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing awaiting approval since that time. In October 2024, a new Provincial Planning Statement (PPS 2024) took effect. This Statement replaced both the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement and the 2019 Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Since the adopted Official Plan was prepared under and heavily influenced by the Growth Plan, it is now out of date with the in-effect legislation (PPS 2024).

In December 2024 County Council provided authorization to proceed with a consultation process to update the new Official Plan with revisions which would implement the new PPS. The Official Plan Redline Revision Process report to Council provides all relevant background information.

Further information:  Peterborough County;Proposed Redline Revised OP 

Notice of Public Open House and Public Meeting for Modifications to the Adopted Official Plan

Take notice that the Corporation of the County of Peterborough has prepared modifications to the new Official Plan, which was adopted by County Council in June 2022. The County is hosting an electronic Public Open House and a hybrid Public Meeting to consider proposed modifications to the Plan in accordance with Section 17 of The Planning Act. 

The new Official Plan, with proposed modifications, serves as the Official Plan for the County of 
Peterborough and functions as the local Official Plan for the following Townships in the County: 

• Asphodel-Norwood                                       

• Douro-Dummer                                      

• Havelock-Belmont-Methuen 

• North Kawartha      

• Otonabee-South Monaghan 

• Selwyn 

• Trent Lakes 

Public Open House Information
A Public Open House will be held electronically on Tuesday February 25, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30p.m. Registration is required. 

Discussions at the open house are intended to be a high-level review of proposed changes to the adopted Official Plan. Those with site-specific questions about individual properties are encouraged to contact County or Township staff for a one-on-one conversation. 

If you wish to participate in the electronic Open House in real time, please register by email no later than 4:00 p.m. on the day prior to the scheduled public open house and you will be provided with an invitation to join the meeting using your computer or phone. Although possible for members of the public to “attend” a meeting electronically, and provide verbal submissions, we would encourage you to communicate with staff in advance of the meeting by providing written comments or questions to NewCountyOP@ptbocounty.ca. 
 
Public Meeting Information 
The Council of the County of Peterborough will host a hybrid public meeting on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. to consider the proposed modifications to the new Official Plan under Section 17 of the Planning Act, R.S.O., 1990, as amended. 
 
The County uses Zoom for hybrid Council meetings which are live streamed to the County’s YouTube channel. Recorded meetings are then posted on the County’s YouTube channel. Any person may attend the public meeting and make written or verbal representation either in support of or in opposition to the proposed modifications to the new Official Plan. 

Registration to speak at the meeting and written submissions must be directed to Kari Stevenson, Director of Legislative Services/Clerk at kstevenson@ptbocounty.ca or 705-743-0380 ext. 2101 no later than 9:00 a.m. on March 4, 2025. Written and verbal comments received prior to and during the public meeting will be considered by Council in their recommendation to the Province. 

Location of Lands Affected 
The proposed modifications to the new Official Plan will affect all lands within the municipal boundary of the County of Peterborough. Accordingly, no key map is provided. 

Purpose and Effect 
The purpose of the Open House and Public Meeting is to provide an overview of the proposed changes to the adopted Official Plan and allow members of the public the opportunity to ask questions and share their opinion. 

The new Official Plan has already been adopted by County Council. The County is seeking additional input on the proposed modifications which would bring the adopted Official Plan into alignment with recent provincial legislation changes. At this time, the County is only proposing changes to policies which would bring the adopted Official Plan into alignment with the 2024 Provincial Planning Statement. No additional or site/property specific changes will be considered. Furthermore, no mapping changes are being made at this time. Only those sections highlighted in red in the Redline Revised Version of the new Official Plan are being considered. 
A full copy of the Redline Revised Version of the new Official Plan is available on the County’s website. 

The Right to Appeal 
The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is the approval authority for the new County of 
Peterborough Official Plan. Pursuant to Section 17(36.5) of the Planning Act, the Minister's decision is final as there is no appeal in respect of a decision of the approval authority where the approval authority is the Minister. 

To Be Notified 
If you wish to be notified of Council’s recommendation or the Province’s decision for the Official Plan, you must make a written request to the County of Peterborough, 470 Water Street, Peterborough, ON K9H 3M3. 

Additional Information and Contact 
The adopted Official Plan and Land Use Schedules, as well as the Redline Revised Version of the Official Plan and all background materials and reports are posted on the County’s website at www.ptbocounty.ca/NewCountyOP. A hard copy of the document(s) can be provided upon request. 

For more information about this matter, including information about appeal rights or to be added to the notification list, please contact the Planning Department, County of Peterborough (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), by calling Keziah Holden, General Manager of Planning at 705-743-0380 ext. 2402, or by emailing NewCountyOP@ptbocounty.ca. 

Collection of Personal Information 
Personal information is collected under the authority of the Planning Act and the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, as amended. The information collected will be used to complete the Official Plan Amendment processes and will form part of the public record. Questions about this collection should be addressed to the County Clerk. 

Fees for planning applications are set in By-Law 2023-0079

Sometimes Council imposes a Holding Provision on a parcel of land to prevent or limit the use of the land. This is done to allow for the orderly phasing of development of the land, to ensure and to allow for the implementation of special design features.

A Holding Provision will not be removed from the parcel of land until all necessary agreements have been registered on title, the conditions of the draft plan approval have been met and all the objectives of the Holding Provision have been met.

When a property owner wishes to remove the Holding Provision from a parcel of land, he must make application to do so, using the same application form that is required for a Zone Amendment. The fee for removal is $500.00. While legislation is silent on the number of days and the area required for notification, the Township utilizes a process similar to Zone Amendments to determine a circulation list and provides reasonable notice. Also a number of Public Agencies are notified. A Public Meeting will be held as soon as is reasonably possible and at Council's discretion anyone in attendance will be given the opportunity to speak in support of or in opposition to the application. All written submissions will also be heard at this meeting. If there is no opposition submitted at the time of the Public Meeting, Council may pass the By-Law to remove the Holding Provision later in the meeting or at a subsequent meeting. There is no appeal period for this by-law and the property owner, applicant and agent will be notified in writing of Council's decision.

A Temporary Use is a By-law passed by the Council to allow a temporary use of land, buildings or structure for a limited time, which is otherwise prohibited by the Zoning Bylaw.

The time period that the Temporary Use is allotted will be set out in the Temporary Use By-law but will not exceed 3 years. Additional 3 year extensions may be granted by Council upon the receipt and processing of a further application. When the Temporary Use By-law expires the continued use of the land; building or structure must conform to the original By-laws of the Township and may not be used for what the Temporary Use By-law permitted.