Land Development and Severence


Whether you’re looking to simply sever a lot into multiple parts or create a completely new subdivision, Memar can help you in the process. All lands in Ontario are subject to Subdivision Control, the statutory power of government, which regulates the division of land into smaller parcels. The process to sever a single lot is commonly known as Approval to Consent or Land Severance. To do several severances in the same area, more information and studies have to be prepared to, obtain approval for a Plan of Subdivision. This can sometimes involve a rezoning application. Subdivision approval is to ensure that the new development is aligned with official plans and zoning by-laws, as well as other provincial legislation. It’s also to assess new infrastructure and services to be provided. The governing body granting approval is councils of upper-tier, lower-tier, and single-tier municipalities. They can delegate this to planning boards, committees of council or appointed officers, for example in the City of Toronto, the Committee of Adjustment is the approval authority on behalf of City Council.

To start the process, a reference plan has to be prepared by an Ontario land surveyor and submitted to the municipality; along with all architectural drawings, identifying proposed floor area, building coverage, setbacks, etc. The approval authority would give notice of the application and hold a public meeting before a decision is made. An application granted approval (draft approval in case of plans of subdivision) can include conditions such as; road widening, parkland requirements, naming of streets and any other municipal requirements. Below, you can see a simple chart explaining the stages involved in the subdivision process. Similar steps would be applied in the land severance with the difference being, instead of approving the Draft Plan of Subdivision at the public meeting, a Notice of Consent will be released to transfer ownership of lots. The granting body will issue a Certificate of Official, to be registered at the land registry’s office.