Statutory Public Meetings under the Planning Act

Statutory Public Meetings under the Planning Act are held monthly on the second Monday at 7:00 pm, unless determined otherwise by Council. 

Please see the City's Meeting Calendar for upcoming meeting dates.

A Statutory Public Meeting under the Planning Act provides interested parties the ability to learn more about development proposals and provide comments and feedback. No decisions are made regarding development proposals at this meeting.

These meetings are chaired by a Member of Council on a rotating basis, and for each development proposal considered at a meeting, the general order of proceedings below are followed:

1. City Staff will provide a brief overview of the application;
2. The applicant or their representative may provide information regarding the application;
3. Members of the public who have registered in advance will be called upon by the Chair in the order in which they registered to make their delegations; and,
4. The Chair may call on the applicant and/or staff to provide clarification on matters raised by members of the public.

Following the Statutory Public Meeting, the City Development Department will review the comments received for each application presented.

At a later date, the City Development Department will put forward a Recommendation Report to the Planning & Development Committee regarding the application for consideration.

Interested Parties receive a notification in advance of when a Recommendation Report will be considered by the Planning & Development Committee and once the Council has made a decision on the matter.

To become an Interested Party for a particular application, you must provide written or verbal comments regarding an application.

At a later date after a Statutory Public Meeting under the Planning Act, the Planning and Development Committee will consider a Recommendation Report from staff on the development proposal.

Following the Planning and Development Committee's consideration, Council will make a final decision to approve the application as submitted, approve it with such modifications as staff may have recommended or as Council deems expedient, refuse the application, or adjourn consideration until a later date.

Appeal Rights under the Planning Act

Only a registered owner of land affected by the official plan amendment and/or zoning by-law amendment, a specified person (as defined in s.1 of the Planning Act), or a public body, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is entitled to appeal.

If a specified person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of Pickering before the official plan amendment is adopted, and/or zoning by-law amendment is passed, the specified person or public body is not entitled:

1. 1. to appeal the decision of the City of Pickering to the Ontario Land Tribunal; and,
   2. to be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal, unless in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to do so.

This means if the by-law is appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal and you would like to participate in the appeal in some form, you must make an oral submission at a public meeting, or submit written comments to the City Clerk, before the by-law is passed by the City of Pickering Council.

Please note that the names of delegates as well as the municipality in which they reside or the organization they represent (if applicable) are published on the City’s website as part of the Meeting Agenda and Minutes. No other personal information will be published but will be kept on file in the Clerk’s Office.

Personal information which includes opinions and views, contained in delegations and written comments is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act, 2001 and in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).  Any personal information you choose to disclose in your delegation or written comments will be used to receive your views on the relevant issue(s) to enable the City to make its decision on the matter. Your name and contact information will be added to the interested parties list to receive future notifications on that particular matter.

Delegates are allotted up to five (5) minutes to make their delegation. Should there be more than one individual speaking to the same matter as a group, the group shall be allotted up to ten (10) minutes to make their delegation. 

The City of Pickering uses Microsoft Teams to facilitate electronic participation and livestreaming of Council and Committee Meetings. Upon confirmation of your delegation, you will receive a calendar invitation by email with instructions regarding how to connect. Once you have joined the meeting, your camera must remain off and your microphone muted until the Meeting Chair has invited you to begin your delegation. Upon receiving the invitation from the Chair to begin your delegation, you may unmute and turn your camera on. Once you have concluded your delegation, please remain connected for any follow up questions that Council or Committee may ask. Should there be no further questions, you will be removed from the meeting. If you wish to continue watching the Meeting following your delegation, you may do so by visiting the City’s YouTube Channel to view the livestream.

The Electronic Meeting Delegation Guide provides an overview of the process involved in making a virtual delegation.

Note: It is the delegate’s responsibility to ensure they have the appropriate technology to connect to the meeting. Should any technical issues arise, the delegate may submit written comments to the Clerk which shall be distributed to all Members of Council after the meeting.

Delegations may provide photos or slides in a PDF or PowerPoint format as part of their delegation, and must indicate this in their Delegation Request Form. 

Delegates must provide their PDF or PowerPoint document(s) to clerks@pickering.ca by 12:00 pm noon on the business day prior to the meeting. 

Materials provided as part of your delegation may not contain content that is disrespectful, offensive, or off-topic from the approved delegation subject matter you have been confirmed to speak to.

Should you wish to present a petition as part of your delegation, you must submit it to the City Clerk (clerks@pickering.ca) prior to or after the meeting.

Please ensure that the petition meets the requirements outlined in the City’s Petition Procedure before submission. Once the petition is submitted, City staff will confirm receipt of the petition by letter to the petition contact person and notify them of the City Department responsible for the subject matter.