What is the Guaranteed Application Timeline Initiative (GATI)?
Effective July 1, 2012, the City of Ottawa is committed to rendering a decision on certain classes of development applications within the Council approved timeline, or else the applicant’s next application of that type will be free of charge.
To what kinds of applications will GATI apply?
GATI will apply to the following five classes of development applications:
- Lifting Part Lot Control
- Lifting 30cm Reserve
- Standard Plan of Condominium
- Lifting Holding By-law (except when tied to site plan approval); and
- Demolition Control
Deadlines
What is the effective deadline for an application?
The deadline for an application is for a decision, as established in the timelines set by Council:
| Application | Definition of Decision | Net Days* |
|---|---|---|
| Lifting Part Lot Control | Sign-off by Manager | 45 |
| Lifting 30cm Reserve | Sign-off by Manager | 44 |
| Standard Plan of Condominium | Sign-off by Manager | 49 |
| Lifting Holding By-law | Sign-off by Manager | 44 |
| Demolition Control | Sign-off by General Manager | 98 |
What happens if the City misses the deadline?
When the City confirms that an application under GATI took longer than mandated for a decision, Planning, Real Estate and Economic Development staff will send a letter informing the client that their next application of the same type will be free of charge i.e. no application fee will be charged.
To claim the application fee waiver, the client will present the letter to the Client Service Center with his or her next application. At that time, our Client Service Center staff will accept the letter in lieu of the usual application fee. Please note: The ORIGINAL letter must be surrendered at this time.
Can I be notified by an alternate means, such as email, phone or fax?
Unfortunately, no. The original letter that the Planning, Real Estate and Economic Development department mailed you is your approval for a free application. In order to ensure that each fee waiver is only used once, the original letter must be surrendered at the time the free application is claimed. Faxes, emails or photocopies of the letter will not be accepted.
* Decision timelines begin with the day an application is deemed complete, and do not include any time during which the file is placed “on hold” awaiting further information or documents from the applicant.