Holding Symbols (H) pause development until conditions are met

A holding symbol (or hold, or a holding provision) – indicated by a prefix or suffix letter “h”, (h) or “-H” – is a municipal zoning status placed on a parcel of land zoned for development to restrict development until certain requirements set by the municipality in the Zoning Bylaw are fulfilled to their satisfaction. The Zoning Bylaw identifies the types of uses that may be permitted while the holding symbol remains. A municipality cannot apply holding policies unless their use is outlined in its Official Plan.

The council of a local municipality may, in a by-law passed under section 34, by the use of the holding symbol “H” (or “h”) in conjunction with any use designation, specify the use to which lands, buildings or structures may be put at such time in the future as the holding symbol is removed by amendment to the by-law.

A by-law shall not contain the provisions mentioned in subsection (1) unless there is an official plan in effect in the local municipality that contains provisions relating to the use of the holding symbol mentioned in subsection (1).

Section 36 of the Planning Act

Municipalities may place a holding symbol on a property to pause development until local municipal services, such as roads and sewers, are in place. For example, a property zoned for General Commercial (C1) may have a holding symbol prefix (H)C1. Until the (H) Holding Symbol is removed, commercial uses are not permitted.

Municipalities may delegate the decision to remove a symbol to a committee (eg. Planning Advisory Committee) or an employee of the municipality (eg. Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Engineering and Development Services) under Section 39.2 (1) of the Planning Act.

Use

Holding bylaws are a tool to manage and stage growth. A municipality may use a holding symbol to:

• achieve orderly staging of development
• satisfy policies of the Official Plan
• adopt measures to mitigate negative impacts
• ensure adequate infrastructure and community services and facilities are or will be available
• prevent or limit the use of land to achieve orderly phasing of development
• ensure private or municipal servicing and design criteria established by the Municipality would be met
• ensure any required studies are completed prior to development proceeding
• prevent development from proceeding until arrangements respecting the installation of services (i.e. sewers and water mains, storm water management systems or roads) have been made
• provide for the implementation of special design features in specific locations or developments
• ensure that an environmental site assessment as set out in Section 7.8.3 d) of this Plan is undertaken
• ensure all conditions of development including financial requirements and agreements in accordance with the provisions of this Plan have been met.

Holding symbols may be applied when a property is:

• Near or contains significant natural features – such as watercourses, wetlands and streams
• previously subject to a planning approval, but construction cannot begin until entering into a development with the municipality. 
• Not on a public road and an agreement with the municipality is required before building or adding onto the existing house
• Adjacent to a landfill site (either open or closed) and further study is required before building a house or redeveloping the site
• Adjacent to a sewage treatment plant and further study is required before building a house or redeveloping the site

Example requirements

For the lands zoned R2-20…

No person shall erect any building or structure or use the land for any purpose other than the use existing on the day of the passing of this By-law until such time as the Holding (H) Symbol is removed.

The Holding (H) Symbol shall be removed in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act, as amended, when it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the municipality that:

• Servicing upgrades
  • Demonstrated that adequate municipal water and sanitary sewer capacity is available
  • Environmental remediation of any contaminated soil has been completed and a Record of Site Condition has been filed
  • Transportation (roads, intersections) improvements
  • Provision of parks, open spaces, community services and facilities
• Site plan control approval
• Technical plans and studies
  • Stormwater management plan
  • Environmental site assessment (ESA), protection, remediation, and mitigation measures
  • Heritage preservation and archaeological studies
  • Noise study
  • Traffic impact study
  • Grading and drainage design
  • Landscape plan
  • Illumination plan
• Consolidation of land ownership has been completed to the City’s satisfaction
• Occupancy Permit has been issued for each existing residential dwelling unit
• Number and location of access points to the development/redevelopment are adequate and safe
• Entering into agreements with the City to secure these matters

Example motion approving rezoning and applying a holding symbol

THAT the Planning Advisory Committee recommends the following to City Council:

THAT Application B-77-1179 to amend the City of Belleville Zoning By-law Number 10245, as amended for Northern Portion of 40 Yeomans Street, now City of Belleville, be APPROVED as follows:

THAT Zoning By-law Number 10245, as amended, be amended by modifying the Residential Eighth Density (R8-2) Zone to only permit a ten (10) storey apartment building with special provisions for lot frontage, exterior side yard, parking setbacks, parking requirements, bicycle parking requirements, landscaped area, and building height; and to rezone the eastern portion of the subject land from Residential Eighth Density (R8-2) Zone to Residential Fifth Density (R5-46) Zone to permit 25 townhouse dwellings with special provisions for yard depths, building height, parking setbacks, private amenity area, communal amenity area, and fence height; and

THAT a Holding (H) Symbol be applied to the zoning to require site plan approval as well as the completion of the necessary supporting documents to the City’s satisfaction prior to the development of the subject land.

THAT a by-law amending Zoning By-law Number 10245 being a by-law to regulate the use of land and the height, bulk, location, size, floor area, spacing, character and use of buildings, be prepared for Council’s consideration.

Belleville

Example Zoning Bylaw

Residential Type 2 – R2 Exception Zones

(1) For the lands zoned R2-H1 no person shall erect any building or structure or use the land for any purpose other than the use existing on the day of the passing of this By-law until such time as the Holding (H1) Symbol is removed. The Holding (H1) Symbol shall be removed in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act, as amended, when the following has been completed to the satisfaction of the municipality:

• 1) A draft plan of subdivision;
• 2) An environmental impact study;
• 3) A traffic impact study;
• 4) A functional servicing report;
• 5) A stormwater management plan; and
• 6) A planning justification report.

Holding Zones

Where a zone designation contains the “H” symbol, the lands identified shall not be developed or redeveloped until the municipality enacts an amending Zoning Bylaw removing the symbol.

18.12 Holding Zones

(1) Holding Zones are created by adding an “-H” to the zone code on the zoning maps, and have the effect of allowing the uses set out in the corresponding text of the By-law at some time in the future, when the Holding Symbol is removed by an amendment to the Zoning By-law once specified conditions, which are identified in the holding provisions, are met (e.g., conditions related to environmental, transportation, and/or servicing matters).

(2) Holding Zones may contain an addition number following the “H” symbol (e.g. -H1) which shall act as a unique identifier for a specific Holding Symbol when the affiliated zone code does not contain any site-specific provision.

(3) The provisions affiliated with individual Holding Zones are found within the Exception Zone subsection of the primary Zone (e.g., the provisions for R1-H are found under the Exception Zone subsection of the R1 Zone).

Application to “lift” (remove) a holding symbol

Once all conditions are met, a developer may submit a hold application to request that the municipality “lift” (remove) the holding symbol, allowing development to proceed. Council must pass a Zoning By-law amendment in accordance with Section 36 of the Planning Act, which does not require a public meeting.

Cost to lift a holding symbol

As of April 2026:

• Arnprior: $1,500
• Belleville: $1,470
• Kingston: $2,636.60
• Oshawa: $4,919
• Quinte West: $2,579
• Toronto: $51,255.18

Holding symbols cannot force developers to build

The “H” symbol is not a “use it or lose it” tool, it is a “do this before you can use it” tool.

When a municipality applies an “H” symbol, they have already “pre-zoned” the land. They are essentially saying, “We agree this should be a 20-storey condo, but the sewers need to be fixed first.” This “approval in principle” creates value uplift immediately, even with the “H” attached.

Holding symbols could require community benefits

Municipalities could use holding by-laws to require community benefits, including:

• improvements to parks and open space
• transportation
• construction of facilities for recreational and community use

Requiring the developer to fund specific infrastructure or community benefits as a condition of removing the “H”, the municipality could recapture some of that value for the public, rather than letting it all go to the landowner.