Official plan공식 계획, 오피셜 플랜

What is it?

An official plan is a city’s long-term plan for how land in the community should be used. It deals with where new housing, industry, offices and shops will go, what roads, watermains, sewers, parks and schools will be needed, and when, and in what order, parts of the community will grow.

Section 16 (1) of Ontario’s Planning Act says an official plan must contain goals, objectives and policies to manage and direct physical change and its effects on the social, economic, built and natural environment. It must also include practical policies for affordable housing and a description of how the public will be asked for its views on plan changes, zoning by-laws, plans of subdivision and consents.

The official plan sets the big picture. The exact rules for each lot are in the zoning by-law. Ontario’s guide explains that zoning by-laws put the plan into effect and provide for its day-to-day administration.

Official plan vs. zoning by-law

Where there is an upper tier and a lower tier (the city or town), an upper tier with planning responsibilities has its own official plan, and the lower-tier official plans and zoning by-laws must conform to it too (Ontario’s guide). But in the GTA, the Act lists the Regions of York, Peel, Halton and Durham as upper tiers without planning responsibilities, so the parts of their old regional plans that applied in a city are now treated as that city’s official plan (sections 1 (1), 70.13 (2)). Ask your city’s planning staff which plans apply to your area.

What has to follow the official plan?

• Zoning by-laws: once an official plan is in effect, no by-law may be passed that does not conform to it. The same goes for public works (section 24 (1)).
• Rezoning: Ontario’s guide says council can consider a zoning change only if the new use is allowed by the official plan. If the plan does not allow the use, an official plan amendment is also needed. The two applications can be filed together (see the exception below).
• Minor variances: the Committee of Adjustment approves only if the general intent and purpose of both the by-law and the official plan are maintained (section 45 (1)).
• Holding provisions (the H symbol): a city can use an H in its zoning only if its official plan has policies on the holding symbol (section 36 (2)).
• Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT): when it decides an appeal, it also checks that its decision conforms with the applicable official plans (Ontario’s guide).

There is an exception. If council has adopted an official plan amendment that is not yet in effect, it may pass a by-law that will conform once the amendment takes effect. If the amendment never takes effect, that by-law has no force (section 24 (2), (2.1)).

Changing the plan (official plan amendment)

1. Talk to your city’s planning staff first. They can tell you if the change is possible, what problems you might face and how to apply. Pre-consultation is voluntary, but it helps you learn early what studies and information you will need (Ontario’s guide).
2. Apply with the information the Minister’s regulation requires, plus any extra material your city’s official plan asks for. Most cities charge a fee.
3. Within 30 days after the applicant pays the fee, council must say whether all the required information has been provided (section 22 (6.1)). It may refuse an application without enough information (section 22 (6) (a)).
4. An amendment goes through generally the same steps as the original plan. Usually at least one public meeting is held, and anyone can speak or send written comments. But no public meeting is needed if council refuses the request (section 22 (3)).
5. If council refuses, or does not decide within 120 days after the required information, material and fee are submitted, the applicant can usually appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (section 22 (6) (b), (7), (7.0.2)). An appeal of a refusal must be filed within 20 days after notice of the refusal (section 22 (7.0.3)). But some requests cannot be appealed, such as removing land from an area of employment (land for uses like factories and warehouses) when the official plan has policies on this (section 22 (7.1) to (7.3)).

Appeals by third parties (anyone other than the applicant) are limited to key participants, such as the province, public bodies, owners of land the plan applies to, and specified persons. Public bodies, owners and specified persons must have spoken at a public meeting or sent written comments to council before the plan was adopted (section 17 (24), (36)). The province suggests asking your city’s planning staff what appeal rights you have.

Why does it matter when you buy?

• The future of the area: zoning shows only today’s rules. The official plan shows how the city wants the area to change (where it plans homes, shops and jobs).
• Land you want to use differently: if you want to open a shop or build more units, first check whether the official plan allows that use. If it does not, you need both an official plan amendment and a rezoning, which takes longer, and the outcome is not guaranteed. One exception: by law, an official plan cannot stop certain layouts of up to 3 units in total on a lot with a detached house, semi-detached house or rowhouse, if the lot is in an area of settlement, zoned for residential use and served by municipal water and sewers. The layouts are 3 units in the house (with none in an ancillary building), or up to 2 units in the house and 1 in an ancillary building (section 16 (3)). Other rules, such as the building code, still apply.
• Development next door: if nearby land is planned for higher density in the official plan, a bigger building may go up there later.
• Commercial: besides checking whether the business is allowed by zoning, look at the official plan designation of the property. It helps you judge what may change.

Example

What to watch out for

• An official plan sets direction only. What you can build on a lot today is set by the zoning by-law. Check both.
• Official plans change. Cities update them regularly, and owners can apply for changes. Under section 26 (1.1) of the Planning Act, a new official plan must be revised within 10 years after it comes into effect, and then at least every 5 years, unless it is replaced by a new plan.
• There are rules above the city’s plan, too. Council’s decisions must be consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement and conform with (or not conflict with) provincial plans.
• The law is changing as well. A 2026 amending act (2026, c. 8, Sched. 7) will replace section 16 (1) of the Planning Act so that the law sets the chapters, sections and land use designations an official plan must use. That change is not in force yet and has no start date (e-Laws, as of October 27, 2026).