Land Development Application Process
COVID-19 and Planning, Development & Building Services
Call Centre: Planning & Development now has a call centre to replace the services normally provided at our 2W Service Counter at City Hall. Callers will be transferred to a staff member who will provide direction with respect to submitting applications, paying fees, requesting data, enquiring about land use, and booking appointments with specific staff. Call 604-591-4086 for assistance. Note that Requests for Inspections should be made through our regular systems not through this call centre. See the COVID-19 City Services, Closures & Cancellations page for more information.
Digital Permit Intakes: Planning & Development permits can be submitted by email to permitapplication@surrey.ca. Before submitting your application, please review the Digital Submission Guideline. You will be contacted once we have reviewed your submission. All permit application processes will remain the same, apart from receiving the physical document copies. Hard copies of permit application submissions may be necessary and requested depending on the scope of work and project size, upon completion of the digital submission.
Pick ups and Drop offs: Note that Surrey City Hall has switched to appointment-only. Hard copies of plans, applications and other documents normally accepted at 2W, 3W and 4W counters are to be left in the drop box near the public entrance at Parking Level P1. Pick up of permits, plans and other documents normally from 2W, 3W and 4W is now at the Reception Desk at 1W.
Inspections: Building, Plumbing, Electrical and Trees and Landscape inspections are still being scheduled. Until further notice, Building, Plumbing and Electrical inspections of occupied homes, properties and spaces will in some cases be carried out with alternative review methods that do not require on-site attendance.
In-person Site Reviews of occupied homes may be required and will necessitate the implementation of additional safety measures and increased levels of service and effort. Final Building Site Reviews will continue to require in-person attendance from Building Officials. For more information and to review these measures and associated checklist, please refer to the In-Person Site Reviews of Occupied Spaces Bulletin.
As the COVID-19 situation evolves, we will continue to keep you informed of any other temporary service implementations and changes. We appreciate your patience and flexibility at this time. Please visit this site regularly to get the latest update.
You must obtain proper approval from the City of Surrey if you want to develop or change the use of land in Surrey.
If you're applying for a Building Permit and the property does not require a Development Permit, Rezoning or other development application, skip to Building and Construction.
Our area planners evaluate development applications to make sure they fit within the Official Community Plan policies and applicable secondary land use plans.
We also seek input from area residents and community associations, to make sure we're considering and factoring in any concerns or issues raised with a development proposal into the decision-making process, before we make our recommendations to Council.
Application Steps
Below is an overview of the steps in the land development application process in Surrey. Please note, you may be asked to provide additional documents, requirements, permits depending on the type of project you are proposing.
The Engineering Land Development Process can be divided into the following phases:
- Application
- Scoping
- Detailing
- Servicing Agreement
- Off-site Construction
Pre-Application
Review background documents, including plans, policies, and processes in the Pre-Application phase of the land development process.
Submitting a Development Application
Review the submission requirements for making a Development Application.
Development Application Review
See an overview of the review and referrals process for land development applications.
Council Review & Preliminary Layout Approval
See how the public, City staff and developers inform City Council's decision on development applications.
Conditional Approval
Learn the process to receive conditional approval for your Surrey land development application.
Plan Review & Permit Issuance
See the key parts of the plan review and permit issuance step of the land development process.
Project Scoping, Project Detailing & Servicing Agreement
Review the phases of the engineering land development process.
Offsite Servicing Construction
Learn about pre-construction meetings, traffic management planning, and more for offsite servicing.
Termination of Land Use Contracts
See how Surrey plans to discharge Land Use Contracts (LUCs) before June 30, 2024.
Final Approval
Learn what final approval of a development application means for each kind of land development project.
