County Planning Application Process
The County of Dufferin has two main planning application processes that occur directly at the County level – Pre-Consultation and County Official Plan Amendment. Applicants that proceed with these planning processes will interact and submit associated materials directly to staff at the County of Dufferin.
Besides a County Pre-Consultation and a County Official Plan Amendment, all planning applications are to be submitted through the Town or Township where they will be circulated by the local Towns and Townships to the County of Dufferin for review and comment. The County of Dufferin’s role extends beyond solely a commenting agency during the local Official Plan Amendment process whereby the County also acts as the approval authority for all local Official Plan Amendments, except those in Orangeville and Mono. Further information and details on each process is available through the flow charts provided in the link below.
For questions about County planning applications, the County’s involvement with lower-tier planning applications, as well as associated fees and costs for planning applications, please contact planner@dufferincounty.ca.
Pre-Consultation Process
The pre-consultation process acts as a starting point of conversation for both the applicant and the County of Dufferin. Here the applicant will be provided the opportunity to describe their development proposal, how it aligns with Provincial, County, and Local planning policies, and any important details relating to transportation, engineering, sustainability, and environmental functionality. While pre-consultations are no longer a required process under the Planning Act, the County of Dufferin strongly urges the undertaking of such process for any prospective applicants.
Prior to submitting a pre-consultation application, applicants are encouraged to review the County Pre-Consultation Policy.
Official Plan Amendment
There are two streams of Official Plan Amendments – Local and County. For Local Official Plan Amendments, applicants are to submit their materials through the Town and Township, which will then be circulated to the County for review and commenting.
County Official Plan Amendments are to be submitted through the County who will then circulate the respective materials to all necessary agencies. In addition to the necessary studies and reports, applicants are also required to complete a County Official Plan Amendment application form as part of the application process.
Terms of Reference
For a County and Local Official Plan Amendment application, as well as all municipal level planning applications (i.e., zoning by-law amendment, minor variance, consents), the County of Dufferin may request the applicant submit a particular study and/or a combination of studies. Provided below are Terms of Reference (ToR) for potential studies that may be requested by the County, which includes a description of specific elements and data that should be a part of the associated study.
Should the applicant and/or consultant require any clarification on a Terms of Reference, please reach out to County Planning staff.
Fees and Costs
Through By-law 2026-03, the County of Dufferin outlines a range of planning activities that correspond to a specific fee. A high-level overview of County Planning fees and costs is provided in the table below.
| Application/Activity | Fees |
| Major Applications | |
| County Official Plan Amendment (COPA) | $4,200 |
| Local Official Plan Amendment (OPA) - Approver | $1,250 |
| Local Official Plan Amendment (OPA) - Reviewer | $850 |
| Consent Application | $500 |
| Plan of Subdivision | $500 |
| Plan of Condominium | $500 |
| Site Plan Application | $500 |
| Additional Recirculation Requests | $250 |
| Minor Applications | |
| County Pre-Consultation | $750 |
| Local Pre-Consultation | $350 |
| Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBLA) | $350 |
| Minor Variance | $350 |
| Niagara Escarpment Commission Application | $350 |
| Additional Recirculation and Review Requests | $150 |
| Joint Applications | |
| County OPA and Local ZBLA | $4,200 |
| County OPA and Local Consent | $4,500 |
| County OPA and Local OPA | $5,300 |
| County OPA and Local OPA and ZBLA | $5,600 |
| County OPA and Local OPA and Consent | $5,900 |
| County OPA and Local OPA, Consent, and ZBLA | $6,200 |
| Local OPA and ZBLA | $1,400 |
| Local OPA and Consent | $1,600 |
| Local OPA, Consent, and ZBLA | $1,800 |
| Local OPA, Site Plan, and ZBLA | $1,800 |
| Local Consent and ZBLA | $700 |
| Local ZBLA and Site Plan | $700 |
| Additional Recirculation Requests | $500 |
| Aggregate Applications | |
| Major (i.e., County and Local Official Plan Amendment) | $10,000 |
| Minor (i.e., Minor Variance, Consent) | $5,000 |
| Additional Requests | $250 |
Pre-consultation (*) is no longer a required planning process under the Planning Act; however, County Planning staff encourage prospective applicants to submit a pre-consultation application to provide all parties the opportunity to discuss the application prior to proceeding with any further planning applications.
There is $500 non-refundable fee if application is withdrawn during approval process prior to draft approval (Legislative authority – Section 69 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, as amended). Further to that, the planning division will no longer be requesting deposits and, instead, will be requiring full cost recovery for additional services undertaken as part of planning applications (i.e., peer reviews).
Method of Payment:
Fees can be paid by cheque, made payable to the County of Dufferin. Cheques can be mailed to or dropped off at 55 Zina Street, Orangeville, ON L9W 1E5.
Fees can also be paid online by credit card.