The Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority has been actively involved in municipal planning matters since the early 1970’s. It has been the objective of the Authority’s Plan Review Program to further the Authority’s mandate of natural resource conservation and management, by providing comments on natural resource/heritage and natural hazard issues, as they relate to planning and development applications.

The jurisdictional boundaries of the Authority, encompasses all of the City of Oshawa and Town of Whitby as well as portions of the Towns of Ajax and Uxbridge, City of Pickering, Township of Scugog and the Municipality of Clarington and is entirely within the Regional Municipality of Durham. The Authority provides plan review comments to both the local and regional municipalities as well as coordinates any other necessary development review/approvals, under its own regulation and/or the Canada Fisheries Act.

The Authority currently exercises a Level 3 approval agreement with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the review and approval of proposals that may be affected by Section 35 of the Canada Fisheries Act (protection of fish habitat).

Input and advice is also provided in terms of Provincial programs and initiatives such as provincially significant wetlands (PSW’s), areas of natural and scientific interests (ANSI’s) and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP).

Some of the Authority’s ‘Areas of Interest’ in the review of planning applications are:

• Stormwater Management – water quantity and quality requirements for receiving watercourses
• Groundwater – protection of the existing quantity and quality of these resources
• Natural Hazards – erosion and slope instabilities associated with watercourses and valley lands as well as regulatory flood plains
• Natural Heritage and Environmentally Sensitive Areas – protection/conservation of existing physical and biological components of the landscape in order to maintain/enhance our existing natural heritage system

The Authority has implemented a fee schedule for the review service provided in reviewing planning applications. A processing fee is generally collected at the time of application, by the municipality. Additional technical review fees if required are invoiced directly to the proponent of the application.

For further details view A Guide to Environmental Planning Fees (PDF - 141 K)

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