Whitby Landscaping Contractor · Reformity Inc.Landscaping & Grading in Whitby
In Whitby, whether backyard landscaping needs a permit depends on how much soil moves. Under the Site Alteration By-law, topsoil for lawns and garden beds is exempt, but raising or lowering grade by more than 0.15 m, or trucking fill in or out, needs a Town permit, and even exempt work can't push water onto a neighbour. The Town notes that drainage swales often run near property lines and advises against changes within 60 cm of the line, so we design patios, beds and edging to keep those swales working.
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 Whitby.
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 Whitby
Regrading by more than 0.15 m or moving fill in or out needs a Whitby Site Alteration Permit, which starts with the Town's pre-screening questionnaire, and work in a CLOCA regulated area can need CLOCA's permit too, so we prepare the grading sketch or plan and handle the applications.
- Dimensions to your lot lines
- Materials, sizes and spacing
- Footing and base sections
- Code notes for the inspector
Town of Whitby rules
Landscaping rules in Whitby.
Checked against official municipal and provincial sources. Lots differ, so we confirm the rules for your address at the quote visit.
Private trees
Whitby requires a Tree Removal Permit for private trees only in listed areas: the Brooklin and Werden's Plan heritage districts, woodlots of 0.2–1.0 ha, Tree Preservation Plan areas, residential lots of 2.02 ha or more, and natural or hazard lands mapped in the Official Plan. Town street and park trees are protected.
Town of Whitby: tree by-lawsConservation areas
Lynde Creek and Pringle Creek run through Whitby inside Central Lake Ontario Conservation's (CLOCA) watershed. Building, grading or filling in a regulated area can need a CLOCA permit first under Ontario Regulation 41/24, so we check CLOCA's regulated-area map before designing.
CLOCA: inquiries & permitsFront-yard paving
For a house with a garage, Whitby's zoning caps the driveway at the garage-door width plus 2.0 m (max 7.5 m; 9.0 m for three-car garages) if 40% of the front yard stays landscaped; some zones differ. Paving beside it that could park a car counts as driveway, and front-yard parking is driveway-only.
Whitby Zoning By-law 2585, s.6A (PDF)Site alteration & grading
Whitby's Site Alteration By-law (7425-18) and its guideline require a Town permit to change grade by more than 0.15 m or to bring in or haul away fill. Pool installs, driveway reconstruction and topsoil for lawns and gardens are exempt, but exempt work still can't make a neighbour's drainage worse.
Whitby Guideline to Site Alteration (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 Whitby
Full-service landscaping.
- Sod Installation
- Garden Beds & Plantings
- Retaining Walls
- Drainage & Grading
Neighbourhoods
Landscaping across Whitby.
- Downtown Whitby
- Werden's Plan
- Port Whitby
- Lynde Shores
- Blue Grass Meadows
- Pringle Creek
- Lynde Creek
- Rolling Acres
- Williamsburg
- Taunton North
- West Whitby
- Brooklin
Whitby Landscaping FAQ
Quick answers.
Yes if you're changing the grade by more than 0.15 m or bringing in or hauling away fill: that needs a Site Alteration Permit, which starts with the Town's pre-screening questionnaire. Topsoil for lawns and garden beds is exempt, but even exempt work can't make drainage worse for your neighbours.
Whitby requires a Tree Removal Permit for private trees only in listed areas: the Brooklin and Werden's Plan heritage districts, woodlots of 0.2–1.0 ha, Tree Preservation Plan areas, residential lots of 2.02 ha or more, and natural or hazard lands mapped in the Official Plan. Town street and park trees are protected.
Send the form on this page or call 437-241-6287. We reply within one business day, visit your Whitby property to measure and check the Town of Whitby rules for your lot, and give you a fixed written price.
Free on-site quote
Planning landscaping in Whitby?
We'll measure, check the Town of Whitby rules for your lot, draw it up and give you a fixed written price. One business-day reply.