Guide to Building Permits | Township of Minden Hills

Before submitting a building permit application to build or demolish, the following must be completed as applicable to your project:

1. Site Plan Review for Building Permit:

A Site Plan for Building Permit must be approved by the Township Planning Department before a building permit can be issued. Once you receive an approved plan from the Planning Department, it should be uploaded with your building permit application on Cloudpermit.

Please submit your Site Plan(s) to the Township Planning Technician.

To ensure review efficiencies a checklist of required plans and information is provided below.

Site Plan Review for Building Permit- Zoning Review Checklist

Submission Requirements:

Property survey, if available. If a property survey is available, site plans must utilize the survey, and a full copy of the survey is required to be included with your submission.

Floor Plan and Building Plan of the proposed building/structure, if available.

Existing and Proposed Site Plans. One combined plan can be accepted as long as the existing and proposed development is clearly distinguishable, and all required information is clear, legible and to scale.

Features that must be included on the Existing and Proposed Site Plans:

Location and dimensions of all property boundaries (lot lines).

Location of all buildings or structures on the lot (including sheds, garages, attached decks, detached decks, septic, docks, and sleeping cabins).

Labels identifying the use of all buildings or structures on the lot.

The floor areas or clear dimensions of any building or structure.

Location of waterbodies on or adjacent to the lot (e.g. lakes, rivers, wetlands, creeks or streams).

Location of floodplain boundaries, where applicable (information regarding floodplain boundaries can be found here: https://lidar-halcty.hub.arcgis.com/ )

Location of roads and utilities (overhead Hydro, Bell, etc.).

Location of any easements or rights of way on the lot.

Location of driveways and legally deeded access to the property

Location of the existing or proposed wells, septic systems or privies on the lot.

Setbacks that must be included:

The distance from all structures to the front, rear, and side lot lines, easements and/or private roads.

The distance from all structures to any waterbody (including wetlands and creeks).

The distance from nearby structures to overhead hydro lines if they cross the lot.

The distance from structures to the septic system (tank and tile field).

Source Water Protection Area Confirmation

Site Plan submissions must be accompanied by confirmation as to whether your property is located within a Source Water Protection policy area.

The Township has 3 Source Water Protection policy areas:

Minden
Kinmount
Lutterworth Pines

To determine whether your property is located within a policy area see the Ministry Policy Applicability Map.

For more information on Source Water Protection please visit our Source Water Protection page.

Site Plan Review FAQ

Questions about what the zone of your property is and what the regulations of that zone are?

Submit a zoning Inquiry through our Zoning Inquiry Online Form or email Nabanita Mondal, Planning Technician, at nmondal@mindenhills.ca for a zone confirmation. Please include your civic address or tax roll number in your email.

What happens if my proposed build does not comply with the Zoning By-law?

You may need to consider alternative locations or designs that would comply. If it is not possible to comply, planning approvals would be required prior to a building permit being issued.

What if I am not able to prepare a site plan?

Site plans must provide accurate and scaled information. Township staff cannot assist in preparing site plans for building permit. If you need help preparing a site plan, you may wish to engage professional services.

Please be advised that if site plans are not accurate or there are discrepancies in information provided, a survey by an Ontario Land Surveyor (OLS) may be required.

How do I find out if there is a survey available for my property?

If a registered survey is available for a property, you may be able to obtain a copy from the Ontario Land Registry Office online platform here: https://www.onland.ca/ui/19. Alternatively, you can engage the services of an OLS.

Please be advised that if surveys do not represent current property conditions, further confirmation by an OLS may be required.

Site Plans must be drawn to scale and include the information as per the checklist. If site plans do not include all required information, this will delay the zoning review process for your building permit.

Note: Any plans that do not include the information as per the Site Plan Information and Checklist form will be returned as incomplete.

2. Septic System Approval

You require Septic System Approval (application fee of $875.00) prior to applying for a building permit if you are building a new dwelling.

You require Septic System Review - online form (application fee of $450.00) prior to applying for a building permit if you are:

adding an addition to an existing dwelling of 15% or more of the existing finished floor area increasing the loading on the septic system i.e.: with bedrooms or bathrooms
building a Bunkie (Sleeping Cabin)

For more information, please visit the Township’s website page on septic systems.

3. Driveway Entrance Permit/Approval

Permits/approval for entrances depends on the road you will access your property from. If your property is located on a:

Township Road: Entrance Permit obtained from Minden Hills.
County Road: Entrance Permit Obtained from County of Haliburton.
Provincial Highway: approval from MTO is required.

Note: Driveway entrances on a private road do not require an entrance permit.

For more information, please visit the Township’s website page on entrance permits.

Applying for a Building Permit

The Township of Minden Hills is pleased to offer residents, builders and the business community access to the Cloudpermit building permit system to apply for and track your building permits.

The Building Department's preferred method for applications is through Cloudpermit.

For more information or to apply for a building permit visit our Building and Renovating page.

Documents Required for a Building Permit

An application for a building permit must be accompanied with the following:

The prescribed application to Construct or Demolish Form, must be completed, IN FULL
Provide a letter of authorization for any agent acting on your behalf
Indicate where your construction waste is going when doing demolition. A Designated Substance report will be required if waste is going to a landfill within the Township of Minden Hills.
A copy of your Existing Site Plan and Approved (signed by Township Planning Technician) Proposed Site Plan
Driveway Entrance Approval (if proposed on a private road this is not required);
Septic System Approval (if applicable to your project)
Your Roll Number needs to be on the prescribed application form. (This is located at the top of the form in the “For Use by Public Authority” section)
Two complete sets of detailed building plans, including floor plans, elevations, sections, etc. If doing an addition, a floor plan of what is existing, will be required
Specify the type of heating.

Copies of original signed applications are acceptable, however at this time we do not accept digitally signed applications.

Electronic submissions are preferred. Please submit your Building Permit Application and all applicable documents to the Permit Clerk.

Note: Any permit applications that are not completely filled in, or do not include the required documents as listed above will be returned as incomplete.

Construction is not to commence, nor will inspections be scheduled, until you have your building permit in your hand and all fees have been paid in full.

Documents Required PRIOR to an Inspection

Truss drawings (Engineered Truss drawings are required in our office prior to a framing inspection being granted).
HVAC design will be required in our office and be approved prior to a HVAC inspection being granted if building a single family dwelling (not applicable for seasonal dwellings).
A 911 number must be obtained from the County of Haliburton prior to Occupancy being granted.

Supplemental Taxes

Please be advised that additional structures or improvements to property will result in supplementary assessment. This assessment and the resulting taxes can be billed for a maximum of 3 years (2 years plus the current) and will often be issued as one bill for the full amount. Upon receipt of your assessment notice, please review all of the information provided including the effective date, assessment amount and last date for appeal. In most cases, you will not receive your tax bill until after the appeal date has expired, so it is important to act immediately if you have any concerns. If you have any questions or require further information, please contact the tax department.