How development applications work in Burlington, where to see their status and how to have your say

What counts as a development application

Ontario's Planning Act lets any property owner propose a building or land use that does not match the City's Official Plan or Zoning By-law. Those requests are called amendments. City planners review them alongside technical studies, such as traffic, noise and shadow, and gather public input before Council decides.

The ten steps

The City describes its planning process in ten steps. Not every file uses all of them, and a file can loop back through steps if the applicant revises the proposal.

1. Technical pre-consultation: the owner meets City and Halton Region staff, who say which applications and studies are needed. No public comments are taken at this stage.
2. Pre-application community meeting: the owner hosts a meeting for residents and businesses nearby and mails notices of it in advance.
3. Application submitted: the owner files with fees and studies. Once the City deems it complete, a sign describing the proposal must go up on the property.
4. Notification: the City mails a letter to properties within 120 metres of the site (300 metres in a rural area) and asks for written comments. People can ask to be added to a mailing list.
5. Circulation: the assigned planner sends the application to agencies, such as Conservation Halton, and to City departments, and may ask the applicant for more information.
6. Statutory public meeting and Recommendation Report #1: required by the Planning Act. Staff present the application and comments to the Committee of the Whole, and the public may speak.
7. Recommendation Report #2, if needed: after revisions, staff bring a final report recommending approval, modification or refusal to a second public committee meeting.
8. Council meeting: Council decides. Council meetings are public and delegations are allowed.
9. Notice of Council decision: everyone who commented, spoke or asked to be on the mailing list is mailed a letter that explains how to appeal.
10. Appeal period: within 20 days of the date of the notice, an applicant or individual may appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

What the status labels mean

Each file on the City's Current Development Projects page carries one of seven status labels, which link to the City's explanation of the planning process. The stages grouped under each label are the City's own.

Where to see a file's status

• Current Development Projects (burlington.ca): each entry shows the address, ward, status, public engagement details, file numbers and the planner on the file. Entries can be filtered by ward, searched by address or date, and viewed on a citywide map.
• News and notices: the City posts statutory notices, including notices of decision, on its news pages, and residents can subscribe for updates.
• Calendar subscriptions at events.burlington.ca: the City sends updates on development application meetings, engagement opportunities, public information sessions and surveys.
• Staff reports: planning reports are posted one week before a Committee of the Whole meeting, online or in person at Service Burlington.
• The sign on the property and the mailed notice: each gives the file number, the address and the planner's contact details. Keep them, because they are the quickest way to find the right file.

How to have your say

The City says all written comments are considered as part of its review. You can email the planner named on the notice or sign, or your ward councillor, or write to the Community Planning Department at 426 Brant St., P.O. Box 5013, Burlington, ON L7R 3Z6. Quote the file number and property address.

To speak at a meeting, register as a delegation on the City's Speak at a Meeting page by noon on the business day before the meeting (for a Monday meeting, noon the Friday before). A delegation has 10 minutes at a standing committee and 5 minutes at Council. A delegation that spoke at committee and speaks again at Council is asked to present only new information. Meetings are held in person at City Hall, 426 Brant St., and remote participation by Zoom has to be arranged in advance. If you do not want to speak, you can email comments to Legislative Services, who circulate them to committee members before the meeting. What is shared becomes part of the public record.

Appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal

Any decision of City Council on an Official Plan or zoning amendment is subject to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), the independent tribunal that decides land use planning matters. The City's notice of decision sets out the exact last day to appeal, counted from the date of the notice, and who is allowed to appeal that particular decision.

Who can appeal depends on the decision. In the City's notices of October 8, 2026, for example, a refused zoning amendment could be appealed only by the applicant and the Minister, while an approved Official Plan amendment could also be appealed by a specified person or public body under the Planning Act and by registered owners of the affected land who made submissions before it was passed. The same notices say no one can be added as a party to a hearing unless they made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to Council before the decision, or the Tribunal finds reasonable grounds. In those notices, appeals are filed with the City Clerk, through the Tribunal's e-file service or by mail, by 4:30 p.m. on the last day, with a fee of $1,100. Check the notice for the file you care about, because fees and rules are set by the Tribunal and can change.

Where things stand and what to check

As of October 25, 2026, the process above is the one published on the City's Burlington Planning Process page, and the City's Current Development Projects page lists active files across all six wards. The process is set by the Planning Act, but committee names, meeting times and fees can change, and the new Council's term begins on November 15, with members sworn in on November 16. The City's meeting calendar and the notice for a given file are always the authority.

• Find the file: Current Development Projects on burlington.ca, or call 905-335-7777 and ask for the planner named on the notice.
• Find the meeting: the City meetings calendar at events.burlington.ca, then pre-register to speak.
• Find the appeal deadline: the notice of decision posted under the City's news and notices, which gives the last day of appeal.
• Questions about the Tribunal's own process: contact the Ontario Land Tribunal directly.