FAQs

The Community Planning Permit (CPP) system is a land use planning tool that any municipality in Ontario can use when planning for the future of specified geographic areas that are identified in a municipality’s Official Plan. It is a tool that combines three (3) development processes into one (1) unified process by addressing zoning, minor variance, and site plan control approvals in a single combined planning permit application.

 The advantage of a singular combined process is that it provides a comprehensive picture of a proposed development, rather than looking at only one component at a time. 

 A development review of a permit application is based on a CPP By-law that incorporates policies, objectives, land use and urban design guidelines and regulations, and development conditions that are created to reflect a local shared vision. This vision is created through workshops and meetings with local residents and businesses, with these being the experts in the area’s history and purpose. The outcome is that local stakeholders are familiar with the purpose and intent of the area’s CPP By-law, and the development community understands what will be appropriate in helping the area achieve its goals and objectives. Where development is proposed that is not in keeping with the shared vision, such is unlikely to be approved.

Approval timelines are shortened from each of 90 days (zoning), ~40 days (minor variance) and 60 days (site plan) to a total of 45 days under the Ontario Planning Act, R.S.O 1990, with the expectation that most permits will be granted through staff-delegated authority. Subdivisions, severances and building permits are not covered under the CPP system and will continue via the normal application review processes.

While a new concept to Ottawa, the CPP system has been applied in other Ontario municipalities, including, Lake of Bays, Innisfil, Huntsville, Brampton, Gananoque, and Carleton Place. The CPP system has been permitted by Ontario planning legislation since 2003.  Comparable systems have long been applied in other Canadian Provinces.

Provincial planning legislation (S.70.2 of the Planning Act, R.S.0. 1990) allows the City to:

• create the CPP System provided there are Official Plan policies to this effect, as noted in S. 11.2 of the Official Plan (see Section 11. Implementation)
• designate CPP areas in the Official Plan while requiring area-specific policies
• adopt CPP By-laws tailored to each designated CPP area
• grant or refuse community planning permits once the CPP By-law is in place. 

The Kanata North technology park, designated as a special Economic District in Section 6.6.3.2 of Volume 1 of the City’s Official Plan, has been identified as the area in which we will test the CPP system. The Official Plan also recognizes the Ottawa International Airport Economic District and the Rural Area as locations where the CPP System might be beneficial.  The purpose of this pilot study is to determine if the CPP system is a practical option for our City. 

• Three (3) of our current development approval processes will be combined into one simplified planning permit process (zoning, minor variance, and site plan control). Note that Subdivisions, severances and building permits are not covered under the CPP system, and proceed according to existing processes
• Community and stakeholder involvement early in the project, where stakeholders participate in workshops and meetings that result in a local shared vision, creates a more stable planning environment with more predictable outcomes and fewer development surprises
• The local vision is reflected in a CPP By-law tailored to the geographic area that includes policies, objectives, land use and urban design regulations and guidelines, development conditions, and may also include site alteration, planning application fees, public notification and circulation, and community benefits requirements.  It replaces the Zoning By-law, the Site Plan Control By-law, and many other municipal by-laws
• The Planning Act eliminates the Committee of Adjustment minor variance approval process under the CPP System, instead permitting minor variations to development standards being specified in a CPP By-law enabling some flexibility in site and building design.  Consents to sever remain under the approval authority of the Committee of Adjustment
• Enabling some flexibility in a CPP By-law creates the expectation that development proposals will adhere to the parameters set out in the by-law, making it more difficult to obtain permit approval for projects that propose major changes to one or more regulations that would be out of scope with the shared vision
• One combined approval process means less time spent by City staff and stakeholders reviewing multiple applications for the same property over a lengthier period of time 
• Approval timelines, prescribed in the Planning Act, are reduced from three separate approval processes of 90 days for zoning amendments or ~40 days for minor variances, plus 60 days for site plan control, to a total of 45 days
• Most permits will be granted or refused via staff-delegated authority rather than through Council, though the applicant or the Ward Councillor may request that staff-delegation be removed for a specific application
• Public notice varies depending on the proposed development, with public meetings not required given the shared vision is reflected in the area-specific CPP By-law used to review such proposals
• Once the shared vision has been developed with community input, and the CPP By-law approved, third-party appeals to planning permit approvals are not permitted under the CPP system
• One combined permit approval process will increase development approval productivity, eliminate delays created between separate approval processes, reducing the number of deliberations by different decision-making authorities,, reduce the number of appeals, reduce backlogs, and enable cost savings to developers.

• S. 70.2 of the Planning Act authorizes municipalities to use the emerging Community Planning Permit (CPP) System as an alternative to the traditional planning system.
• City Council wants to test this newer, streamlined system to determine whether it is a good fit for Ottawa.
• The Official Plan allows for a CPP System to be created and identifies the Kanata North Economic District as the area in which the CPP pilot study will be undertaken. 
• The Official Plan has designated the Kanata North Technology Park as a special Economic District (“the KNED”) given its on-going role as a major economic generator and innovation driver at the regional and national levels, with many innovative businesses competitive at the global level (see Schedule B5).

This is a pilot study being undertaken in the Kanata North Economic District only. If Council chooses to apply the CPP System elsewhere in the City, an Official Plan Amendment will be required to identify each area and establish detailed policies and a shared vision for future development in the specific area. Local stakeholder engagement would be undertaken in the development of a shared vision for such areas.

For those living in Ward 4 and surrounding Wards there will be a wider variety of land uses and leisure activities to meet their needs and interests. The intent is to have the Kanata North Economic District opened to surrounding neighbourhoods, rather than be insular and focussed solely on land use and community within the District.  As the KNED continues to develop, new jobs will be introduced.

There will be greater certainty with new developments proposed in the KNED.   Development that is approved under the CPP By-law must comply with the predetermined community vision, the latter of which is reflected in the Council-approved KANATA NORTH ECONOMIC DISTRICT Urban Design Framework and Guidelines developed as the first step in creating the CPP System in the District. 

The Planning Act enables municipalities to retain, vary or replace the types of regulations found in traditional Zoning By-laws.

Like a traditional zoning by-Law, the CPP By-law must comply with the Official Plan.  It will contain a list of permitted uses and development standards, such as height and density specifications.  For example, how tall a building can be or how many units it can have.  It may also include permission for uses subject to additional conditions.  It will also identify floodplains, natural environments and other lands. 

A CPP By-law could also contain elements not found in a traditional zoning by-law.  It may allow for some flexibility or variability that is built into the area-specific CPP By-law. For example, minor variations to one or more standards, such as to a minimum required rear yard, could be included that reflect the local shared vision, but that also:

• allow developments to be designed with some flexibility given site-specific or land-use specific circumstances 
• reduce the need for changes to the CPP By-law.

In addition, a CPP By-law may contain policies and objectives, urban design guidelines and regulations, conditions of development, site alteration rules including removal or addition of fill and the alteration of grade, and the regulations concerning the removal of vegetation.

Details concerning the type of community benefit and associated charges must be included in a CPP By-law should Council wish to require these in exchange for increases in height and density.

Details on the scope and extent of staff-delegated authority should Council choose to delegate approval authority, scoped versus full development reviews of planning permit applications and CPP fees may also be included in a CPP By-law.

Surrounding residential neighbourhoods are not included in this pilot study.  They will not be subject to the CPP system and will continue to be subject to the City’s Official Plan, Secondary Plans or Community Design Plans, to the Zoning By-law 2008-250, and to any future comprehensive zoning by-law. 

A CPP By-law must comply with the Official Plan and its policies on the protection of water resources, natural heritage, the management of non-renewable resources and climate change.

 The CPP System is able to recognize and protect environmental areas and features and maintain greenspaces in the same way as the traditional planning systems including zoning and site plan control.  It also has the ability to regulate the removal of vegetation.

 The KNED Urban Design Framework and Urban Design Guidelines recognizes the natural features and spaces, environmentally-sensitive areas and greenspaces including significant tree stands, that nearby residents, KNED employees and visitors travel through and promotes developments with these at the forefront, recognizing the rich environment within which the District first developed.   These guidelines will be included in the CPP By-law. 

 The City is undertaking a mobility study in the KNED that will look extending or enhancing local paths to provide greater connections within and beyond the District.

 Monk Environmental Park, the South March Highlands, and the Greenbelt are adjacent to the District and will be unaffected by the CPP System.  

A CPP system can not designate when a neighbourhood receives rapid transit  service or designate changes to a public transit system. 

 An Environmental Assessment Addendum is underway that is focussed on the provision of numerous future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations along March Road within the study area.

 For general information on transit and other transportation issues, please see the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) Update.  

• A greater range of uses and services will be available within the District to serve not only future local residents but those living in nearby neighbourhoods.
• A heightened role for the District will bring greater opportunities for economic development, including for the development of businesses to support the innovative industries.
• Heightened attention to the need for a variety of transportation options, the creation of complete and safe streets, greater provision of pedestrian and cycling paths linking lands both within and beyond the District.
• Availability of residential units in mid- and high-rise buildings where these are lacking in Ward 4.
• Neighbourhoods have a more stable planning vision through a CPP System as it:

1. gathers community input upfront resulting in a local, shared vision,
2. requires the community to be involved whenever a change is needed to the planning vision,
3. prevents third-party appeals of applications that meet the rules established in the CPP by-law, and
4. prevents amendments to the CPP By-law for five years or, in some cases, the CPPS policies in the Official Plan, unless initiated by the municipality.

A two-year monitoring period will follow the enactment of the area-specific CPP By-law, after which a report will go to City Council who will decide if we will retain the system in the KNED, whether any changes should be considered to the CPP By-law or approval process, and whether to implement the CPP system in other areas of Ottawa.

The CPP By-law may not be amended for five years after the date that it is adopted, or in the case of any appeals, where all of these have been disposed of by the provincial Ontario Lands Tribunal (OLT) unless Council decides that it may be amended.

The development process will be via the application for site-specific planning permits (instead of the three traditional planning approval processes of zoning by-law amendments, minor variances, and site plan control).  Development must conform to the CPP By-law, including development standards and allowed minor variations to those. 

Yes. To date, local stakeholders have participated in Phase 1, creating the area’s Economic District designation in the Official Plan, and in Phase 2, participating in numerous urban design workshops and public information sessions that have resulted in the shared vision reflected in area-specific KANATA NORTH ECONOMIC DISTRICT Urban Design Framework and Guidelines .  

 In addition, local stakeholders participated in the Official Plan Amendment 33 that corrected an anomaly between the general permission for high-rise mixed-use residential uses along the designated March Road Mainstreet Corridor and the KNED policy that limited buildings to nine storeys on March Road outside of the Activity Centres in the District.  

 Both local and City-wide public meetings are planned in Phase 3, with the formal Open House and formal Public Meeting to be undertaken in Phase 4 of the study, leading to the adoption of the CPP By-law.

 Stakeholder comments during the two-year monitoring period post-adoption of the CPP By-law will be received and engagement will be undertaken prior to Committee and Council deliberation on the future use of the CPP system. 

Please visit the Kanata North Economic District Community Planning Permit Pilot study page on Engage Ottawa; sign up for our City Builders newsletter; or reach out via the project mailbox cpp-ppc@ottawa.ca.