Vaughan Landscaping Contractor · Reformity Inc.Landscaping & Grading in Vaughan
Vaughan landscaping often starts with grade: valley-edge lots along the Humber in Kleinburg and Woodbridge, and smaller rear yards in Vellore Village and Patterson where drainage needs fixing before anything is planted. Terracing a slope means retaining walls, and the City's lot grading rules require a wall over 1 m high to be designed and certified by a Professional Engineer and set back from the nearest property line by at least its height. On most lots, two lower tiers with planting between work better than one tall wall at the fence.
Landscaping · real projects
Recent landscaping jobs across the GTA.
Real Reformity jobs from our project files. Customer addresses are never published.
Landscape & grading plan — Grading, drainage swale, tree protection and planting. Click to enlarge.
Retaining wall details
Drawn before we build
Drawn before we build in Vaughan.
A grading and landscape plan: slopes away from the house, swales, downspout outlets, protected-tree zones, walls and planting. It's what site-alteration and tree permits ask for, and it keeps water off your foundation and your neighbour's.
Landscaping permits in Vaughan
Landscape regrading on an occupied home lot doesn't need a Vaughan site alteration permit, but the City's grading criteria keep grades unchanged within 0.6 m of property lines and require any retaining wall over 1 m to be designed and certified by a Professional Engineer — Reformity prepares the grading and wall drawings and arranges any approvals needed, including TRCA on valley lots.
- Dimensions to your lot lines
- Materials, sizes and spacing
- Footing and base sections
- Code notes for the inspector
City of Vaughan rules
Landscaping rules in Vaughan.
Checked against official municipal and provincial sources. Lots differ, so we confirm the rules for your address at the quote visit.
Private trees
Vaughan's tree by-law (177-2025) requires a permit for trees 20 cm or more in diameter.
City of Vaughan: tree by-lawConservation areas
Vaughan is in the TRCA watershed; properties backing onto the Humber or Don valleys may need TRCA approval for decks, walls or grading. Rural north Vaughan is also on the Oak Ridges Moraine.
TRCASite alteration & grading
Landscaping and regrading on an occupied home lot don't need a site alteration permit, but By-law 031-2024 requires a Development Engineering grading permit, issued before the building permit, for accessory structures over 10 m², ground-floor additions, walk-up basements, side entrances that need excavation and sunrooms on foundations. City grading criteria bar grade changes within 0.6 m of a property line.
Site Alteration By-law 031-2024 (PDF)Retaining walls
Under Vaughan's lot grading rules, a retaining wall over 1 m high must be designed and certified by a Professional Engineer and set back from the nearest property line by at least its height, and every retaining wall must be stone, precast block or concrete, not wood.
City of Vaughan lot grading notes (PDF)Front-yard paving
Zoning By-law 001-2021 keeps the yard your driveway is in at least 33% landscaped on lots 6–11.99 m wide, or 50% on lots 12 m+, with 60% of that soft. Driveway width is capped by frontage (6.0 m on 9–11.99 m lots, 9.0 m on 12 m+, less on narrower lots) and at 6 m across the curb. Some subdivisions differ.
Zoning By-law 001-2021 (PDF)Retaining walls over 1 m
Under Ontario's Building Code, a retaining wall needs a building permit when its exposed height is over 1 m (3'3") and it's next to public property, access to a building, or private property open to the public. Those walls must be designed to the Code's structural (Part 4) rules.
Ontario Building Code, Div. A 1.3.3.5
What we build in Vaughan
Full-service landscaping.
- Sod Installation
- Garden Beds & Plantings
- Retaining Walls
- Drainage & Grading
Neighbourhoods
Landscaping across Vaughan.
- Woodbridge
- Maple
- Kleinburg
- Thornhill (Vaughan)
- Concord
- Vellore Village
- Patterson
- Sonoma Heights
- Vaughan Mills
- Elder Mills
Vaughan Landscaping FAQ
Quick answers.
Not right up to it. The City's grading criteria don't allow grade changes within 0.6 m of a property line, so we leave that strip at its existing grade and set raised beds, patios and walls back from it. Lots backing onto the Humber or Don valleys may also need TRCA approval before regrading.
Landscaping and regrading on an occupied home lot don't need a site alteration permit, but By-law 031-2024 requires a Development Engineering grading permit, issued before the building permit, for accessory structures over 10 m², ground-floor additions, walk-up basements, side entrances that need excavation and sunrooms on foundations. City grading criteria bar grade changes within 0.6 m of a property line.
Vaughan's tree by-law (177-2025) requires a permit for trees 20 cm or more in diameter.
Send the form on this page or call 437-241-6287. We reply within one business day, visit your Vaughan property to measure and check the City of Vaughan rules for your lot, and give you a fixed written price.
Free on-site quote
Planning landscaping in Vaughan?
We'll measure, check the City of Vaughan rules for your lot, draw it up and give you a fixed written price. One business-day reply.