Official Plan Amendment Application

What is an Official Plan Amendment Application?

An Official Plan Amendment Application is a formal request to change (amend) the Official Plan. The Clarington Official Plan is a long-range land use policy document prepared under the Ontario Planning Act. It outlines Clarington’s goals, objectives and policies designed to manage growth and development in the entire Municipality on a broad level.

An Official Plan Amendment may have the effect of changing a land use designation contained in the mapping, modifying the text or policy of the Official Plan, or both.

The Municipality has the ability to initiate amendments as warranted. In accordance with the Planning Act, the Official Plan is reviewed and updated every five years.

Privately initiated amendments are generally discouraged where possible. However, if an Official Plan Amendment is pursued, the applicant must provide sufficient justification as to why the amendment should proceed. Under certain circumstances, planning applications may only be considered at the time of an Official Plan review. Details regarding the type of applications falling under this category can be obtained from the Planning and Infrastructure Services Department.

The following are criteria for determining what constitutes a major Official Plan application:

• New aggregate extraction areas or expansion to existing aggregate extraction areas;
• New golf courses or expansion to existing golf courses;
• New waste facility or expansion to existing waste facility;
• Expansion to urban boundary or re-designation of Future Urban Residential Lands;
• Hamlet expansion where settlement capacity study is required;
• Commercial Development greater than 2500 m2;
• Deletion or addition of arterial or collector road;
• Any application that would require a need to review or manage studies due to broader policy implications for the Municipality, or any application deemed to be major by the Deputy CAO of Planning & Infrastructure Services Department.

Pre-consultation

Prior to submitting an application on Service Clarington, the owner/applicant is highly encouraged to arrange a pre-consultation meeting with municipal staff.

How do I apply?

Apply Online through Service Clarington

As of October 2025, Clarington is accepting digital applications (and payments under $10,000) through Service Clarington. On the platform, you’ll find instructions for creating an account and links to apply for an Official Plan Amendment online.

This change aims to help streamline the development process, enhance efficiency and give applicants the ability to view their application within the Service Clarington portal.

Previous Application Process (to be phased out)

Please note that digital applications through Service Clarington are the preferred method for submission, and the old application process will eventually be phased out as Clarington works to streamline the development review process.

Official Plan Amendment application forms are available at the Planning and Infrastructure Services Department located at 40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville. The completed application form must be accompanied with a copy of the proposed Official Plan Amendment, copies of any background and/or technical documentation, the required number of proposed plans and all other requirements included on the form and discussed during the recommended pre-consultation meeting, as well as the appropriate application fees.

What happens next?

A Planner will be assigned to your application and will circulate it to the public bodies required under the Planning Act.

You will be given information on how to post a sign on the property advertising the Official Plan Amendment application and the date of the public meeting. A sign is required to inform the public of the proposed application on the subject land. The Planning and Infrastructure Services Department will advise the applicant of the Public Meeting date and prepare the necessary text on the notice sign to be erected by the applicant at their expense. The Municipality will also mail notice of your proposal to all property owners within 120 metres (400 feet) of the property boundaries. Notice of the Public Meeting may be placed in local newspapers.

The Planning and Development Committee will hold a public meeting in Council Chambers at the Municipal Administrative Centre at 40 Temperance Street in Bowmanville.

A public meeting report will be prepared by staff detailing the application and is available in the Planning and Infrastructure Services Department generally on the Thursday afternoon before the public meeting.

Additional information about an application is available from the Planning and Infrastructure Services Department.

Typically, at a public meeting the Planning and Development Committee will refer the application back to staff for further review and to consider all comments expressed at the public meeting.

The applicant may also be asked to provide additional information or to provide revised drawings to reflect any comments from other departments such as the Building Services Division. The Planning and Infrastructure Services Department will prepare a second report incorporating comments that have been received and addressing planning-related concerns. The report will also include a recommendation of approval or denial of the application. Again, the report is generally available the Thursday afternoon before the meeting.

The decision of Committee will be ratified by Council the following Monday evening. The Municipality is the approval authority, and the Clerk of the Municipality will issue a Notice of Decision. Appeal of the decision to Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) must be submitted to the approval authority’s Clerk within 20 days of the issuance of the Notice of Decision. If no appeal is filed, you will receive a letter advising you that the decision is final and binding.

What are the fees?

A non-refundable processing fee for the Municipality and applicable Agencies is required. See the Clarington Planning and Infrastructure Services Fee Schedule and Agency Review Fees Schedule for applicable fees or contact developmentapplicationscoordinators@clarington.net.

All applications must be signed before a Commissioner of Oaths. The Municipality of Clarington provides this service.

How long does it take?

The Official Plan Amendment application procedure described here applies to most applications and takes approximately six months. The timeframe will vary for complicated applications and is affected by Council’s schedule and the number of applications processed at any given time.

Once the required information has been received, the submission will be reviewed to determine whether it constitutes a complete application. An application is considered complete only if all required plans, studies, and fees have been provided. If any of these elements are missing, the application will be deemed incomplete until the outstanding items are submitted.

Prior to rendering a final decision on the application, the Municipality will require written confirmation that all Municipal taxes are current and up to date.

Can the decision be appealed?

If the Municipality fails to make a decision within a prescribed timeframe the applicant has the right to appeal the non-decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). An appeal may also be made within 20 days of issuance of the Notice of Decision. Any person who has an interest in the application, including the applicant or agent and has a valid reason for disagreeing with the decision may lodge an appeal. An appeal must include a completed OLT Appeal Form and be accompanied by a cheque payable to the Minister of Finance. All appeals and fees must be submitted to the approval authority’s Clerk.