Severances
A severance is an application process that creates one or more new lots from an existing property. You can find out more by reading the County of Peterborough Land Severance Guide.
Starting a severance
Your first step is to submit a Severance Proposal Form to the County of Peterborough and have a Preliminary Severance Review completed. This free service looks at your proposed severance and lets you know if what you plan to do conforms to the relevant planning policies and makes you aware of any issues.
Submit complete Proposal Forms to the County Planning department in person, by mail, or by fax. Contact information is on Page 3 of the Proposal Form. You can also email a completed form together with a sketch to planning@ptbocounty.ca.
Land severance eligibility depends on conforming with various provincial and local plans and policies, including, but not limited to:
- Lot size
- Compatibility
- Public and private roads
- Conformity to the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law
- Water supply
- Sewage disposal
Apply for a Land Severance
Once you have completed a preliminary severance review to determine if a parcel of land is eligible for severance, and if you decide to proceed with a formal severance application, visit the County of Peterborough to submit an Application for Severance. If any studies are required, they must be submitted at this time along with the application fee. Please remember that a separate application and application fee is required for each new lot. Contact the Land Division office if you are uncertain what should be submitted.
Submit complete applications to the Peterborough County Land Division office. Contact information is at the top of the Application form, or you can call 705-743-3718 and book an appointment to drop off the complete application package.
A Sample Application for Severance is available should you wish to see what a completed application form looks like.
The County of Peterborough is the approval authority for all land severances in the Township of Douro-Dummer. The County circulates formal severance applications to the Township of Douro-Dummer and the Township makes recommendations to Peterborough County Land Division these applications.
The Township's User Fee By-law No. 2023-08 sets a review fee of $300.00 for each Consent (Severance) Application the Township reviews. As part of the process, the Township provides comments to property owners and Peterborough County Land Division about whether or not the application application complies with the Township policies and regulations and if there are any conditions to be imposed.
Conditions of Severance
Conditions are items that need to be done after the severance has been approved. You have two years from the date of approval to complete your conditions. Once you have met all conditions, the Land Division Office will stamp the deed and you can register your new lot.
The instructions and examples below are helpful when completing your conditions of severance.