Do I Need Planning Permission to Add An Enclosure to My Commercial Property?
We will be happy to guide you. As well as our varied experience building enclosures and other outbuildings on residential properties, we’re fully conversant with zoning and planning permission by-laws in Ontario. Contact us for a free consultation.
Book an AppointmentIn many cities across Ontario, you will need planning permission if the enclosure you are building is over 10 square feet in size.
However, cities and municipalities in the province have control over zoning laws for both residential and commercial land use in their jurisdictions. Zoning regulations, therefore, differ from city to city. You will need to seek guidance from your city’s zoning department before you draw up plans for your enclosure.
How Do Zoning Laws Affect Planning Permission?
Why You Need Planning Permission?
City by-laws are there to ensure orderly urban development. These regulations assure good ventilation and lighting for an area’s residents.
Cities are also keen to ensure that buildings are located in healthy surroundings for the comfort and health of the people who will live and work in them. Your enclosure also has to live up certain aesthetic standards.
Planning permission also determines the type of building permit you will require for your structure. A building permit places specific demands on the equipment you can use and the safety measures to make.
By-laws also regulate the nature of the business you can conduct on your property
For commercial land, by-laws also regulate the nature of the business you can conduct on your property. As an example, city by-laws generally forbid the rearing of animals in specific zones. So you are unlikely to be approved for a horse shed or any live animal pen at the back of your factory, no matter its size dimensions.
If your enclosure and its use are not allowed in your zone, you will have to apply for a zoning change first. Remember, though, you may not be permitted to make a zoning change application if your local council passed a comprehensive zoning by-law in the last two years.
Any alterations or extensions of heritage buildings require special planning permission
Heritage buildings are buildings that possess a historical architectural aesthetic so cherished that the city will want to protect it. The Toronto Post Office and the Canadian Pacific Building are two examples of popular heritage buildings in Toronto.
Cities have planning and heritage conservation committees that confer heritage status and place stringent restrictions on any extension or remodeling work that has the potential to redefine a heritage building’s character.
If your property has heritage building status, you cannot, for example, add a patio enclosure without seeking planning permission.
What Happens If You Build Without Planning Permission?
No permit can be issued for work that was done without the necessary permits and which does not meet zoning restrictions. If your structure meets planning permission requirements, you may escape with a fine, on top of the planning permission fee.
If you decide to build your enclosure without planning permission and the city finds out and determines you should have, you will be asked to take it down.