What is typically included in a site plan agreement with an Ontario municipality?

A site plan agreement is the registered agreement between a developer and a municipality that formalizes the conditions attached to an approved site plan, and typically covers matters like the approved building location and grading plan, required landscaping and its maintenance, parking layout and access points, servicing details such as water, sewer, and stormwater management, and any required on-site amenities or buffering from neighbouring properties. It generally binds the property, not just the person who signed it, meaning future owners are also subject to its terms.

The agreement commonly requires the developer to complete specified works according to approved plans before or during construction, and often includes provisions for the municipality to hold security, such as a letter of credit, to ensure those works are actually completed as agreed. Because a site plan agreement is registered on title and stays with the land, a buyer of a property developed under one should review the agreement itself as part of due diligence, since ongoing maintenance obligations, such as landscaping upkeep, can continue to apply well after the original construction is finished.