Answers to the questions people ask first.

Property environmental screening is a preliminary, desktop-based review of publicly available GIS mapping for a specific parcel. It identifies whether a property sits inside or near mapped constraints such as:

• Floodplains and flood hazard areas
• Wetlands (including Provincially Significant Wetlands)
• Significant woodlands
• Watercourses and their regulated allowances
• Conservation Authority regulated areas (Ontario Reg 41/24)
• Provincial plan areas — Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine, Niagara Escarpment
• Natural heritage features (MNRF / NHIC data)

It is not a Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessment and does not certify a property is clean, contaminated, or buildable. Its purpose is to flag mapped considerations early — before you make an offer, hire consultants, or commit to a design.

Development constraint mapping is a GIS map package designed for builders, small developers, architects, and planning consultants who need a clearer view of mapped site constraints before design, planning, purchase, or consultant engagement. A constraint map typically shows:

• Parcel boundary and site context
• Regulated-area overlays and buffer zones
• Wetland, woodland, watercourse, and floodplain overlays where data is available
• Natural heritage features and hazard mapping
• Source citations on the map face

Exported as a PDF map package with optional KMZ or QGIS-ready files. It helps small project teams understand the envelope and external context before sinking design hours into the wrong assumptions.

At a minimum, before buying land in Ontario you should review:

• Your local Conservation Authority's regulated-area mapping (under Ontario Regulation 41/24)
• Municipal zoning and natural heritage overlays on the city or town's online mapping tool
• MNRF NHIC viewer for wetlands and Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs)
• Provincial plan-area maps — Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine, Niagara Escarpment
• Floodplain and flood hazard mapping (usually from the Conservation Authority)
• Land Information Ontario (LIO) data portal

Each of these lives in a different system. The 7 Land Constraints Checklist (free download) walks through each one. Zavia GIS pulls and consolidates them into a single screening report.

Conservation Authority regulated area mapping shows the lands inside a CA's jurisdiction under Ontario Regulation 41/24 (formerly the individual Section 28 regulations). It typically covers:

• Watercourses and an associated regulated allowance (often 15–30m, varies by CA)
• Wetlands and their adjacent lands
• Hazard lands — steep slopes, erosion-prone shorelines, unstable soils
• Floodplains and floodway limits

Any development, site alteration, or grading inside a regulated area requires a permit from the relevant CA — for example TRCA, CVC, Conservation Halton, HCA, CLOCA, or LSRCA in the GTA region. Permits can take months and may be denied. Knowing whether a parcel sits inside a regulated area is one of the first checks any informed buyer or builder runs.

A GIS screening is a desktop review of publicly available mapping for environmental and planning constraints on a parcel — floodplains, wetlands, regulated areas, plan-area policy, natural heritage features. It is fast, low-cost ($249–$499 launch), and designed for early-stage decisions before you make an offer.

A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) is a formal investigation conducted by a qualified professional under CSA Standard Z768. It includes records review, site reconnaissance, interviews, and a formal report assessing potential contamination risk from past land uses (industrial activity, fuel storage, etc.). Phase I ESAs are required by lenders for many commercial transactions and typically run several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.

The two products answer different questions: a GIS screening tells you what the public maps show about land-use constraints; a Phase I ESA tells you about historical contamination risk. Many serious property purchases benefit from both.

A Provincially Significant Wetland (PSW) is a wetland that has been evaluated by Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and determined to be ecologically significant under the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System.

PSWs are protected under the Provincial Policy Statement: no development or site alteration is permitted on the wetland itself or in adjacent lands (typically within 120 metres of the boundary) without an Environmental Impact Study. PSWs are mapped in the MNRF NHIC viewer and in Conservation Authority data.

A property that overlaps or sits near a PSW often carries one of the most restrictive constraints in Ontario property due diligence. Catching it early on the public maps is exactly what a screening report is for.

No. Zavia GIS provides preliminary desktop screening and GIS mapping support using public data. It does not replace a Phase I/II ESA or professional regulatory review. If the screening flags concerns that warrant formal review, we'll tell you and recommend the right type of professional to escalate to.

No. Zavia GIS does not provide buildable / not-buildable conclusions. We help identify mapped constraints and suggest the questions to ask the relevant authority — Conservation Authority, planning department, planner, surveyor, or engineer — depending on what the maps show.

To return a scope and price within one business day, the minimum we need is:

• Property address (or parcel number)
• A short note on what you're trying to do (buying, building, planning, etc.)

Helpful but optional: listing link, parcel size, timing constraints, deliverable format preference.

Simple property scans typically take 2–3 business days. More complex map packages may take 3–5 business days. Rush turnarounds are available case-by-case — flag it in the inquiry.

Publicly available GIS data, including:

• Ontario Conservation Authority mapping (regulated areas, hazard limits)
• Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry (MNRF) natural heritage data
• Floodplain & flood hazard mapping
• Municipal open data & parcel context
• Provincial planning & environmental mapping

Every deliverable identifies the specific sources used so you can verify or escalate.

Introductory launch pricing

We're offering reduced launch pricing while we build our Ontario portfolio. Pricing may increase as service demand grows.

• Property Environmental Screening — launch from $249 (expected regular: from $395). Fast desktop review for simple properties.
• Standard Property Screening Report — launch from $395 (expected regular: from $495–$595). More detailed package with multiple map views, source references, and follow-up questions.
• Development Constraint Mapping — launch from $499 (expected regular: from $795). For builders, designers, and small developers.
• GIS Mapping for Consultants — from $75/hour or fixed-fee project pricing. Scope-based.

Final pricing depends on property size, location, available data, and requested deliverables. Custom pricing may apply for larger parcels, multi-site reviews, rural or complex sites, rush delivery, or custom GIS file preparation. We confirm exact pricing before any work starts.

The Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario — including Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, and the Halton, Peel, York, and Durham regions. Other Ontario locations on request.

Yes — KMZ and QGIS-ready files are available as an optional deliverable. ArcGIS-compatible files can be provided on request. Specify the format in your inquiry or leave it open and we'll recommend.

Yes. The GIS Mapping for Consultants service is built for this — report-ready figures, constraint maps, field data cleanup, Excel-to-map conversion. Hourly or project-based. Standard NDA on request.

Send the address and a short description anyway. We'll tell you honestly if the situation is outside our scope and recommend who you should talk to instead — a Conservation Authority, planner, surveyor, or Phase I ESA consultant. The first conversation is free.