Official Plan

A Guide to Community Building in Pickering

An Official Plan is a statutory document which sets out the land use policy directions for long-term growth and development in a municipality. Municipalities in Ontario are required to adopt Official Plans to guide growth and development that will implement the Ontario Planning Act and other relevant legislation and regulations.

The Durham Regional Official Plan provides the overall framework for Pickering's Official Plan.

Pickering's Official Plan

View the City of Pickering Official Plan - Edition 8, and Schedules

The Official Plan includes schedules of land uses, transportation systems and resource management, and addresses the following land use designations:

  • Residential
  • Mixed Use
  • Employment
  • Agricultural
  • Open Space
  • Study Area

While the Official Plan establishes policies for long-term growth, it is periodically reviewed to ensure that it continues to meet the changing economic, social and environmental requirements of the municipality.

Amending the Official Plan

The Ontario Planning Act and its Regulations include a process which allows a Council or an individual to request an amendment to the Official Plan at any time.

The process provides notice to those who might have an interest in the proposed amendment, allows people to provide input to Council on a proposed amendment, and provides an opportunity to challenge a Council decision at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

A number of amendments have been made to the Official Plan since Council adopted it in 1997, resulting in the current Pickering Official Plan, Edition 8, dated October 2018.

The City is currently conducting a review of the City's Official Plan, and it is being updated through a series of individual amendments.

Visit the City of Pickering Official Plan Review for more information.

Compendium Document to the Pickering Official Plan

The Compendium document contains Development Guidelines for urban neighbourhoods within Pickering that require further guidance on what and where development should occur.

The Development Guidelines address but are not limited to:

  • detailed land use mix and arrangement
  • scale and intensity of use
  • transportation network
  • community design requirements
  • servicing arrangements

Development applications, including subdivision, rezoning, site plans and building permits must conform to the direction provided by the relevant guideline.

Please see the following for more information on the area specific development guidelines.

Compendium Documents:

Part I - Area Specific Development Guidelines

Neighbourhood Development Guidelines  [file size shown if over 500 kb] Section No.
1. Rosebank Rosebank Neighbourhood Development Guidelines A1
2. West Shore    
3. Bay Ridges Liverpool Road Waterfront Node Development Guidelines   [1.3 mb]
Bay Ridges Plaza Redevelopment Guidelines  [1.7 mb]		 C1

C2
4. Brock Industrial    
5. Rougemount    
6. Woodlands Northeast Quadrant Development Guidelines   [785 kb] F1
7. Dunbarton Dunbarton Neighbourhood Development Guidelines G1
8. Town Centre Walnut Lane Area Development Guidelines 
Town Centre West Development Guidelines [1]  [2.6 mb]		 H1
H2
9. Village East Specialty Retailing Development Guidelines   [664 kb]
Notion Road Development Guidelines   [852 kb]		 I1
I2
10. Highbush Highbush Local Node Development Guidelines J1
11. Amberlea    
12. Liverpool      
13. Brock Ridge Duffins Precinct Development Guidelines  [519 kb] M1
14. Rouge Park Rouge Park Development Guidelines  [593 kb] N1
15. Duffin Heights Duffin Heights Development Guidelines  [2 mb] O1
[Note 1] Parts have been supplanted by the Pickering City Centre Urban Design Guidelines

Part 2 - General Development Guidelines

Other Guideline Documents

For more information about land-use planning, please visit the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing website:

Print Copies

Hardcopies of the Pickering Official Plan, Compendium Document, and other Guideline Documents are available for purchase or for viewing at the City Development Department. Copies are also available for viewing at the Public Library. The PDF documents may be downloaded free of charge from this web page.

Please contact us for further information on the Pickering Official Plan, and/or for information on the Amendment process.