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Land Use Program

NAV CANADA assesses all land use proposals near airports and air navigation infrastructure before construction begins to ensure that safety and efficiency are not compromised. Some development uses may not be permitted even if other permits have been obtained.

As soon as you start to conceptualize or plan a project, contact Stakeholder and Commercial Relations or the Land Use Office according to the type of project; refer to the decision planning map below.

Consulting with the Land Use Office often reveals issues that need to be addressed. Aviation-specific regulations, operational, and safety standards may significantly impact a project.

Examples of Land Use Considerations

Line-of-sight Obstructions

Development of New Flight Paths*

Electronic Interference with ANS Equipment

Resolution of Light Pollution Issues

*Subject to Airspace Change Communications and Consultations ProtocolOpen a new window

Selecting the Submission Form

The Decision Planning Map summarizes the process to determine which submission form is appropriate for your proposal. Detailed guidance and more information can be found in the Detailed Land Use Proposal GuidelinesOpen a new window.

If your land use project includes one of the following: a new runway or runway extension, runway or taxiway rehabilitation/resurfacing, runway end safety area (RESA) implementation and you are temporarily or permanently relocating your thresholds or changing your runway certification, use the Airport Submission Form and send your proposal to Stakeholder and Commercial Relations 18 to 24 months prior to beginning construction. If you are not temporarily or permanently relocating your thresholds or changing your runway certification but your project uses cranes, use the Crane Submission Form and send your proposal to the Land Use Office 8 to 12 weeks prior to beginning construction; if your project does not use cranes, use the General Submission Form and send your proposal to the Land Use Office 8 to 12 weeks prior to beginning construction. If you are making major changes to airport infrastructure (for example, developing parts of the airport property into commercially-used areas), use the Airport Submission Form and send your proposal to Stakeholder and Commercial Relations 18 to 24 months prior to beginning construction. If you are not making major changes to airport infrastructure but your project uses cranes, use the Crane Submission Form and send your proposal to the Land Use Office 8 to 12 weeks prior to beginning construction; if your project does not use cranes, use the General Submission Form and send your proposal to the Land Use Office 8 to 12 weeks prior to beginning construction.

Processing Times

Processing times vary as they are dependent on the complete and accurate submission of the respective form and the complexity of the project. Usually, NAV CANADA attempts to respond within 8 to 12 weeks.

Should you be planning a project in or around an airport, please be aware these times can go up to 12 to 18 months pending necessary mitigations. Let us know about your project as early in the planning process as possible.

Distribution

Specific information submitted to NAV CANADA's Land Use Office (that is, coordinates, structure heights and owner's contact information) will be distributed externally.

These external stakeholders include, but are not limited to, Transport Canada, aerodromes, NORAD, external design organizations (EDOs), Department of National Defence (DND), and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for review of services for which they are responsible and maintain.

We recommend consulting:

Once Construction Starts

It is imperative that you notify the Land Use Office of your construction start date.

Should you have received Construction Notification Form(s) with your response letter, you are required to send completed form(s) to the Land Use Office a minimum of ten days prior to the construction date to ensure enough time to implement potential changes.

After Construction Completion

Should you have received Construction Completion Notification Form(s) with your response letter, you are required to send completed form(s) to the Land Use Office once the structure has been built.

Other Situations

To maintain an up-to-date database, the Land Use Office needs to be notified after a structure has been dismantled:

Or when a structure changes ownership:

Additional Forms and Information

To report multiple obstacles:

For general inquiries, please refer to Transport Canada ContactsOpen a new window.

Please note, if your land use application includes a proposal for installation/modification of a radiocommunication capable device/antenna, you also need to consult Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED):

If you have any questions, please contact your nearest ISED district officeOpen a new window.

Contact Information

For information about land use proposals, contact:

Land Use Office 
landuse@navcanada.ca