Self Storage Zoning, Approvals and Development Charges in Ontario

The most expensive mistake in self storage development is buying land that cannot be used for storage, or that can only be used for storage after a year of applications. Zoning, site plan approval and development charges are the questions to answer before the offer is firm. Each municipality answers them differently, so the answers come from the municipality's own documents and planning staff, not from a rule of thumb.

Is self storage permitted?

Every property is governed by the municipality's official plan and zoning by-law. The zoning by-law lists the uses permitted in each zone, and it is the first document to read.

Self storage creates a particular problem: many by-laws do not name it. Some list "self storage facility" or "mini-storage" as a defined use. Others list only "warehouse", which may or may not be interpreted to include storage rented to the public. Some permit it in industrial zones, some in highway or service commercial zones, some in both and some in neither.

• Read the definitions section of the by-law as well as the zone's permitted uses
• Confirm the municipality's interpretation with planning staff, in writing where possible
• Check the zone's height, lot coverage, setback, landscaping and parking standards against the concept layout
• Check whether the site is subject to a site-specific by-law or holding provision

When the use is not permitted

Where storage is not permitted, or the building does not meet a zone standard, there are two common routes.

Minor variance

A minor variance, heard by the municipality's Committee of Adjustment, relaxes a zone standard such as height, setback or parking. It is the faster and less costly route, and it is suited to adjusting standards rather than adding an entirely new use.

Zoning by-law amendment

A zoning by-law amendment, decided by municipal council, changes the zoning to permit the use. It takes longer, requires supporting studies, and involves public notice and a public meeting. Where the official plan designation also does not support the use, an official plan amendment may be needed as well.

Either route adds months to the program and uncertainty to the outcome, so the purchase is best made conditional on it.

Site plan approval

Most storage developments are subject to site plan control. Site plan approval settles how the development sits on the land:

• Building locations, heights and elevations
• Access, drive aisles, fire routes and turning for emergency vehicles
• Parking, loading and snow storage
• Stormwater management, which is significant on storage sites because so much of the land is paved or roofed
• Grading, servicing and landscaping
• Lighting, fencing and signage

Where the site is regulated by a conservation authority, its permit is part of the same track. The stormwater design for a large paved drive-up site is often the item that takes longest to settle.

Development charges

Development charges are levied by municipalities, and in some areas by the upper-tier region and school boards, to pay for the growth-related infrastructure a development uses. They are charged per square metre of non-residential floor area and they can be a large number.

Storage is exposed to one particular question: whether the municipality classifies it as industrial or as commercial or other non-residential development. Some municipalities charge different rates for those categories, and the difference on a large multi-storey facility can be substantial. Read the municipality's development charge by-law, confirm how it treats storage, and put the result in the land budget before the offer is firm.

The building code questions that follow

Zoning decides whether the use may go on the land. The Ontario Building Code decides how the building must be built. For storage, the questions that most affect cost are:

• The occupancy classification, which the architect or engineer of record establishes. Storage is generally treated as an industrial occupancy, because the contents are unknown
• Building area and number of storeys, which together determine the construction type required and whether sprinklers are needed
• Fire separations, exits and travel distances, which shape the corridor layout
• Fire department access and water supply for firefighting

These are resolved at concept design with the municipality's building department, because they can change the structure, the sprinkler system and the rentable area.

A feasibility sequence that protects the land decision

• Read the official plan designation and zoning by-law for the property, including definitions
• Confirm with planning staff how storage is treated and what approvals the site needs
• Test a concept layout against the zone standards and a building code review
• Confirm the development charge category and rate
• Price the result with a Class C estimate, including servicing and stormwater
• Make the offer conditional on the approvals the site needs

Terrahills carries this sequence as part of the same contract as the building: zoning and site plan applications, servicing and stormwater, and construction, so the approvals and the steel lead time are run in parallel rather than one after the other.