Book a Pre-consultation Meeting

Town of Fort Erie By-law No. 63-09 requires pre-consultation with Town Planning Staff before applying for the following:

• Official Plan Amendment
• Zoning By-law Amendment
• Draft Plan of Subdivision
• Draft Plan of Condominium
• Consents or Site Plan Approval.

The Pre-consultation guide is used to help the applicant during the pre-consultation process. In addition, the guide provides information on how to submit a complete application.

NOTE: Please be advised that lead time to your scheduled meeting could be 4 - 6 weeks from application submission (including complete application form, fee(s) and sketch/site plan).

APPLY ONLINE

PAY ONLINE

Purpose of the Pre-consultation Process:

The pre-consultation process allows applicants to review their development proposal with Town Staff and other key agencies. This happens when the proposal is preliminary, providing early identification of issues, constraints and opportunities. During pre-consultation, the applicant provides conceptual, descriptive and technical information on a development proposal to Town Staff and key agencies. This is to assist them in assessing the completeness of the application and the merits of a proposal.

Topics for discussion may include:

• land use policies and guidelines
• zoning information
• public consultation
• engineering requirements
• development review and application fees

The Pre-consultation Process will provide the applicant with the following:

• Information on what applications need to permit their development proposal
• Information on required studies and documentation needed to support of the required applications
• The application processing fees associated with the proposal
• The estimated timeframe to process the application once a complete application gets received
• Reasonable certainty on whether Planning Staff would support the development proposal (i.e. whether they would recommend approval or denial)

Please note that staff can waive requirements for pre-consultation. Less complex applications may not need pre-consultation.

How to Proceed through the Pre-consultation Process:

The applicant should begin the pre-consultation process at the earliest possible time. Please get in touch with the Town to discuss the development proposal as soon as specifics of the proposal are available. The Town has a two-step pre-consultation process. This process helps exchange information and development considerations early in the planning process.

Planning Review:

• Applicants are encouraged to contact staff to begin the pre-consultation process and give an overview of the proposal.
• A completed Pre-consultation Request Form together with the preliminary review fee is required to be submitted. This can be applied for online or in person by clicking on the links above.
• Planning Staff will review the submission and circulate to relevant Town Staff and agencies for review and comment (generally a 3-4 week comment period is given).

Pre-consultation Meeting:

• Following review, a pre-consultation meeting may be scheduled, if required, which will include the applicant, internal Town Staff and agencies.
• Town Staff and agencies will provide the applicant with an explanatory letter prior to the meeting.
• Following the meeting the applicant will be provided with a formal Pre-Consultation Agreement which will contain all comments received and application submission requirements for the applicant to reference.

What's Next?

Once the pre-consultation is complete, applicants can submit applications and supporting information to permit their development proposal.

Included in Appendix 4:

• Diagrams illustrating the steps in the Official Plan Amendment
• Zoning By-law Amendment
• Draft Plan of Subdivision
• Draft Plan of Condominium
• Site Plan Approval and Consents/Boundary Adjustment processes.

Contact Information:

To begin the pre-consultation process for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law amendment or Draft Plan of Subdivision/Condominium, contact:

Manager - Supervisor Development Approvals

Planning and Development Services

Phone (905) 871-1600 ext. 2503

To begin the pre-consultation process for a consent or boundary adjustment contact:

Planning Technician

Helie Upadhyay

Planning and Development Services

Phone (905) 871-1600 Ext. 2535

To begin the pre-consultation process for a Site Plan Application contact:

Planning Technician

Helie Upadhyay

Phone (905) 871-1600 Ext. 2535