Land Severance

Pre-consultation with the City of Oshawa prior to applying for a land severance in Oshawa is strongly encouraged. This provides the opportunity to discuss municipal requirements and possible conditions of approval with appropriate City staff. It also provides an opportunity to determine if the proposal can be considered through the removal of part lot control process. The City will review the application to ensure it complies with the applicable zoning regulations. In some instances, non-compliance can be addressed through the granting of a minor variance by the Committee of Adjustment.

An application, along with required supporting documentation and processing fees for the Region and the City, is submitted to the Durham Region Land Division Committee located at the Regional Headquarters, 605 Rossland Road East, Whitby. The Region will review the application to ensure it is complete. An incomplete application cannot be accepted or processed.

The Land Division Committee schedules a public hearing date (generally within 30 days of submitting the application) and provides a minimum of 14 days notice for the hearing.

The Land Division Committee requests comments from local agencies, boards and authorities prior to making a decision.

A public hearing is held by the Land Division Committee to consider the application, the comments received and any input from the applicant and members of the public. The Committee then makes a decision on the application. Following the decision, a notice of decision approving or refusing the application is sent, within 15 days, to any person or public body requesting to be notified. The Land Division Committee regularly imposes conditions on the approval of applications.

The Planning Act requires a 20 day appeal period after the decision is made during which time the decision may be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) following the notice of decision of the Land Division Committee.

Prior to the Land Division Committee releasing consent for land severance for registration at the registry office (e.g. stamp deeds, easements, etc.), the Committee requires that the applicant satisfy the conditions imposed in the approving decision and requires a written clearance from agencies such as the City of Oshawa. Applicants are advised that, when conditions of approval requiring clearance by the City of Oshawa are required, adequate time to enable consideration and processing of the clearance should be provided.