Planning Fundamentals & FAQs

Development is authorized by municipalities through planning applications. If you're interested in making changes to your property, please consult the website information and the planning department to determine if a planning application is required. Visit the Planning Applications page for additional information and resources.

Planning applications are reviewed and approved in accordance with the applicable planning policies, procedures, guidelines, and by-laws.

In Huntsville, decision making for planning related issues is delegated to different authorities, depending on the application and if it adheres to the Community Planning Permit (CPP) by-law and/or the Town's Official Plan.

Town Planning staff can approve specified planning applications. Staff review all applications and are delegated approval authority for Class 1 and 2 CPP applications, as well as uncontested consent applications.

Planning application can be brought forward to Planning Council for decision. Planning Council consists of every member of Town Council. They review recommendations by Planning Staff on applications for which they are the approval authority, including contested Consent Applications, Class 3 CPP and CPP by-law amendment applications.

The District of Muskoka is the approval authority for subdivision and condominium applications and Official Plan amendments in Huntsville.

Finally, appeals to planning decisions rendered by the above noted approval authorities are handled by the Ontario Land Tribunal.

A pre-consultation is a requirement for all Town planning applications. The pre-consultation process ensures that all necessary requirements are provided for application submission and supports a more seamless process. Each pre-consultation request is assigned to a member of the Planning team, who reviews the submission. The more detail you provide the more efficient we can be with our review.  

Depending on the complexity of the proposal, pre-consultations may require a formal meeting with Town staff and any other relevant commenting departments and agencies. The meeting provides the opportunity for internal staff and consulted agencies to ask questions, voice concerns and clarify the process required for the application. Applicants are then provided with written comments with next steps and submission requirements. Not all pre-consultations require a meeting, but staff always provide detailed comments and are happy to assist with any questions you may have. 

There is a $285 fee for a pre-consultation, which is then reduced from the corresponding planning application, should you wish to proceed. Please note the fee reduction only applies if the application is submitted within three months of the pre-consultation.

• View the pre-consultation form.
• Information about properties can be found on the Town of Huntsville Map (TOHM).
• Visit the Official Plan and Community Planning Permit pages for more information about the documents as well as to look up permitted uses and provisions for land within the Town.

Land use planning is a way to organize and manage development and growth within a geographical region. Land use organization is very closely tied with transportation systems, housing, environmental considerations, parks and recreation, municipal services, and economic growth and jobs. Land use planning policies provide predictability to all residents by creating a standardized process in which all development will follow. This Town also helps ensure that services are adequately allocated throughout the municipality. It helps ensure that environmental, health, and economic interests are balanced and properly prioritized.

Planning involves many stakeholders including all levels of government, public authorities, private corporations, and you. As land use planning dictates what is and what is not allowed, understanding and participating in the creation of these regulations is important. It shapes the neighbourhoods where you live, play, and work.

Both the Official Plan and Community Planning Permit by-law work together to guide planning and development within the Town of Huntsville.

The Town of Huntsville's zoning by-law was replaced with a Community Planning Permit by-law (CPP by-law) in July 2022 and it came into affect in January 2023. Similar to a zoning by-law, the CPP by-law lays out the permitted uses and requirements for each lot within the Town. Instead of calling land use designations 'zones', they are now referred to as 'precincts'.

Learn more about the by-law and its precincts.

An Official Plan is a policy document that guides the short-term and long-term development in your community. It applies to all lands within the municipal boundary and the policies within it provide direction for the size and location of land uses, provisions for municipal services and facilities, protection of natural features, resources, and constraints, and preparation of regulatory by-laws to control the development and use of land.

Designations in the Official Plan classify land uses in certain areas of a municipality. To identify what designation your property falls under, you can find your property within the maps in Schedule A, B-1, or B-2. Learn more about the Official Plan schedules.

To find what precinct your property falls under, use the Town of Huntsville's mapping program and follow these steps:

1. Search for the property in question and select it from the map.
2. Select the CPP layer on the list.
3. Clicking the property of interest to open an information box that will contain the CPP precinct as well as other information about the property.
4. You can also click through to the appropriate section of the by-law and it will show the permitted uses.

Official Plan designations can be identified using the Town of Huntsville Map by searching for the property of interest.

• Properties are colour-coded and can be compared to the legend for the Official Plan - 2019.
• Both rural and waterfront designations do not have colours.
  • Waterfront is identified through a connection, either geographical or use, to the water.
  • If the property is grey and does not have this relationship with the water, it is designated rural.
• If you have any questions about identifying these designations please connect the Planning Department.

Additionally, if you click on the specific property, it will bring up an information window that contains a legal description, an Official Plan designation and a Community Planning Permit precinct. From here you can click the link to the Official Plan to see what is allowed in that designation.

First, identify which precinct the property falls under. Proceed to the CPP by-Law's Section 4 – Precinct and Overlay Provisions to find the corresponding permitted uses.

A woodland retreat is a building used for recreational activities like hunting, which provides seasonal or temporary accommodation in a remote location where municipal or community services are usually not available. A woodland retreat does not include a dwelling or a commercial use property. This use is sometimes referred to as a hunt camp.

The following provisions apply to woodland retreats:

• The minimum lot area shall be 4 hectares;
• The minimum setback from a watercourse shall be 30 m;
• The maximum floor area shall be 60 m²; and
• The property shall not have frontage on a year round municipally maintained road.

On the Town of Huntsville’s Interactive Mapping (TOHM):

1. Select "Official Plan - 2019".
2. Select the Schedule C - Natural Constraints layer.
3. Within the Natural Constraints layer, it may be helpful to deselect some layers to show constraints hidden below. For example, deselecting the layer of “Cold Water Lake” would allow the mapping to show the “Fish Habitat” layer.
4. Refer to the legend to identify the type of constraint.

Once a natural constraint has been identified, it is important to understand the related polices within the Official Plan and the CPP by-law when considering development on a lot. Natural constraints have been identified throughout the Municipality in the Official Plan. They are listed under Part B of the Official Plan and shown mapped on Schedule C.

The Town of Huntsville does not have surveys on file. Please contact a lawyer, mortgage company, or land surveyor to see if a copy is available. If no survey is available, please contact an Ontario Land Surveyor to conduct a property survey.

Development requirements vary based on the property and the proposal. Please review the following to determine if there are planning requirements for your property and the proposed development. 

1. Review the online mapping to determine the precinct.
2. Review the CPP by-law to determine the permitted uses.
3. Ensure all provisions will be met i.e. general provisions, parking requirements, lot requirements.

If development requires a CPP or other planning application, please request a pre-consultation or contact the Planning Department with any questions. 

Both the new lot and the remaining property must meet the minimum lot requirements of their corresponding precinct(s) (frontage and area). They also both need to have frontage on and access to a year-round municipally maintained road.

This application needs a pre-consultation and Planning staff will help identify what supporting materials you will to need to submit with the application.

Municipal services are under the jurisdiction of the District of Muskoka. Please contact the District for more information.

Complete a pre-consultation through the Cloud Permit portal prior to any submission.

Please contact a solicitor to discuss existing easements and/or rights of way.

Please submit a routine disclosure form with your detailed request.

An Original Shore Road Allowance (OSRA) is reserved along the shore of a navigable waterway by the Crown but not an allowance that has become a street. Purchasing an OSRA is often a condition of Planning approval. Learn more about our Original Shore Road Allowance process.

An unopened road allowance is municipally owned land designated for public access but is not maintained or opened by the Town. Please contact the Legal and Agreements Coordinator for more information regarding the purchase of an unopened road allowance. Learn more about road allowances.

The Huntsville CPP by-law does not have a minimum size requirement for dwellings, but the dwelling must comply with the Ontario Building Code and other provisions within the CPP by-law.

Trailers cannot be parked on vacant land within the Town of Huntsville. Trailers are only permitted for temporary use when a building permit has been issued for construction and until the project is complete, or as temporary use for guest overflow on properties with an existing dwelling unit in rural, residential or waterfront residential precincts.

A title abstract is also called a parcel register and can be obtained online from the Land Registry Office. It includes the legal description of the property, owner names, and a history of anything registered against the title of the property.

Identify property's precinct and refer to Section 4 – permitted accessory uses.

Identify the property’s precinct and refer to Section 4 – permitted accessory uses. A short term rental accommodation (STRA) is only permitted to operate from the principle dwelling structure on a property. STRAs cannot operate out of a secondary residential unit. Visit the Short Term Rental Accommodation Licensing page to learn more.

View the Property Standards Complaint form.

View the Compliance Report form.

All Planning applications will require pre-consultation prior to submission. The Town of Huntsville uses Cloudpermit for application submissions. Learn more about using Cloudpermit.