Development Application Guidelines/ Terms of Reference

To assess the technical aspects of a development proposal, we require a number of supporting studies and materials to be submitted as part of a complete planning and development application. 

Requirements for an Official Plan amendment, Zoning By-law amendment, draft plan of subdivision or draft plan of condominium are described in the Livable Oakville Plan as well as found in the Planning Act.

The guidelines set out the study purpose, rationale, who is to prepare it and when. The level of detail and number of studies and plans required will vary depending on the scale and complexity of the proposal. 

A list of specific submission requirements will be prepared at the pre-consultation meeting and detailed in the pre-consultation application form (pdf).

Please consult our Development Engineering Procedures and Guidelines (pdf) for engineering requirements and standards.

Pre-consultation process

The Town of Oakville has what’s known as a pre-consultation process, as it relates to proposed developments that require some form of Planning Act approval from the town.

When a landowner, or a perspective developer of a parcel of land, is interested in developing a parcel of land that requires approval under the Planning Act, they are first required to submit to the town a pre-consultation request form, along with a preliminary site plan of the proposed development.

At times, the proposal submitted to the town may be of confidential nature, as the applicant may be not yet be in a position to publicly disclose the details of the proposal due to business or financial reasons.

Upon receipt of this material, Planning staff hold a pre-consultation meeting with the applicant and other key commenting departments and agencies, who provide feedback to the applicant concerning the planning and technical merits of the proposal, along with a detailed list of submission requirements. The applicant is then able to submit the proposal and the Planning Act application to the town as originally contemplated; or alternatively, may modify the plan based on the feedback received, and submit a modified proposal.

Public information meeting - checklist for developers (pdf)