Updated 10/2022
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CITIZEN PORTAL ACCESS
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The City of Ontario Planning Department accepts electronic plans / documents submittal via the City’s Citizen Portal
Access at (https://automation.ontarioca.gov/OnlinePermits/Default.aspx) for permit applications.
For questions regarding the electronic submittal process, please email the Planning Department at
PlanningCounter@ontarioca.gov.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION PROCESS
1.
Initiate an Application
• Navigate to the City’s Citizen Portal Access (https://automation.ontarioca.gov/OnlinePermits/Default.aspx) and
create a user account.
•
Select the appropriate application that matches the permit being applying for by clicking “Planning” and “Create an
Application”. A list of record types will appear, such as Development Plans, Conditional Use Permits, Sign
Permits, Tentative Tract or Parcel Maps, etc. Select all that apply.
• Complete the application fields and follow the instructions to upload plans under “Attachments.” The documents
must be labeled appropriately.
• Attachment upload requirements
:
o The plans must be submitted in a single black and white PDF document, excepting files requiring color
illustrations (e.g. architectural elevations, landscape plans, and complex utility systems maps).
o P
lans must be scaled and oriented correctly and cannot exceed 100 MB. Scanned plans and individual
sheets submitted as separate PDF documents will NOT be accepted.
o For large plan sets that exceed the maximum file size, provide grouped PDF documents for different plan
sections (e.g. architectural, civil, landscape, etc.), or large supplemental document types (e.g. calculations,
specifications, reports, studies, etc.). Additional PDF formatting instructions are available in part two
of
this document.
• A
fter submittal, a confirmation with a preliminary application permit number (e.g. PPA22-123) will be provided and
s
taff will review and provide comments on the plans / drawings within three regular business days. If no
correspondence has been received within four business days of submittal confirmation, email
PlanningCounter@ontarioca.gov with details about the project (e.g. preliminary application permit number and
address) for assistance.
• An email will be sent to the applicant that provides the total fees for the project with instructions to make payment
via credit card or e-check. To make payment, access the City of Ontario’s Online Payment Portal at
https://ontarioca.telleronline.net/
, s
elect permit fees, then enter the permit number.
2.
Tracking Application Status
• Application status is accessible online 24/7 through the Citizen Portal Access via the “record info” tab, where
any available plans or documents can also be downloaded. Please check online first prior to calling City Hall.
• W
hen City staff have completed review, an email will be provided outlining whether corrections have been issued
or the application has been deemed approved.
3.
Resubmittals
• If required, revised plans shall be uploaded to the Citizen Portal Access via the “Resubmit” link located in the
“Attachment” section. A complete set of revised plans must be uploaded with all revisions clearly marked.
Scanned plans and individual sheets submitted as separate PDF documents will NOT be accepted.
• If
any resubmittal fees are due, as identified in the plan review comments or noted as “fees due” online, these must
be paid at the time of resubmittal.
Updated 10/2022
Page 2 of 3
CITIZEN PORTAL ACCESS
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT REVIEW (EDR)
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Correct
4.
Approval
• Once all review activities are completed and the project has been approved, the City-stamped set of entitlement
plans and / or final entitlement approval package will be available in the Citizen Portal Access. Applicants are
responsible for displaying approved conditions on-site where and as apply, and for transferring conditions of
approval and approved plans from the entitlement files to the Building Department’s plan check plans as apply.
PDF FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS
Portable Document Format (PDF) is the industry standard for electronic plans. The City of Ontario only accepts PDF files for
plan review, which must be properly formatted as described below. Please read the following instructions carefully, as
Improperly formatted plans will delay the plan review process for your project.
Layers: No multiple layers. Layers must be merged or flattened.
Format: Vector preferred
Resolution: 300 pixels per inch (PPI)
Color Depth: Monochrome (1-bit)
File Size: 1 megabyte (MB) avg. per sheet.
100 MB total
Grouping: Multiple-sheet PDF (single file with
multiple sheets)
See “Formatting Q&A” on page 3
for more information on
formatting and tips on how to create, convert, and merge
PDF files. Each sheet of the plans must be sealed and
signed by the designer of record. The signature may be
applied to the drawing electronically (CCR Title 16, Div. 5,
Sec. 411e). All sheets must be consolidated into one plan
set, up to a maximum size of 100 MB, and into the fewest
number of files possible.
Correct
Unnecessary color plans
will not be accepted
Incorrect sheet size, scale, or margins
will not be accepted
Incorrect orientation
will not be accepted
Updated 10/2022
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CITIZEN PORTAL ACCESS
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT REVIEW (EDR)
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
FORMATTING Q&A:
Question: Why does Ontario only accept PDF plans?
Answer: Ontario is responsible for maintaining records of plans and providing the public with access to them. Files
kept in our electronic database must be compatible with a wide range of computer software for storage,
viewing, and printing. In addition, the file sizes must be manageable for transfer and for use by the public
and City staff.
The PDF standard is constantly evolving and Ontario will continue to evaluate these standards as
necessary.
Question: Are raster-based PDF files acceptable?
Answer: Yes; however, the City prefers vector-based files given the ability to scale these files. Raster-based files are
accepted when vector-based files are either unavailable or too large to transmit (greater than 100 MB total).
Question: How do I combine multiple PDFs into a single file?
Answer: There are numerous PDF tools freely available on the Internet, which can be used to merge, rotate, and
rearrange PDF files.
Question: My PDF files are too big. What am I doing wrong?
Answer: Properly formatted and compressed raster PDF files should not exceed 1MB per sheet. If your files are
larger, you may have made one of the following errors:
• Saving the plans as 8-bit (grayscale) or 24-bit (full-color) raster files will drastically increase the
file size. Even if the images contain only black and white objects, 8-bit and 24-bit files still contain
all of the shade and color data. Plans must be saved as 1-bit (monochrome).
• Uncompressed files are much larger than compressed files. Construction plans contain mostly
white space. The data required to store this white space can be significantly reduced. When
converting your PDFs to raster images, be sure to use a form of lossless compression (such as
LZW). When creating or saving PDF files, remember to specify “compressed.”
Question: How do I convert a vector-based PDF to a raster-based PDF if my file size is too large?
Answer: The industry standard software for working with PDF files is Adobe Acrobat; however, there are numerous
PDF tools freely available on the Internet.
Step 1: Save the vector-based PDF files as raster images (TIF or PNG). The format of the raster images
is important (300 ppi, monochrome). We recommend TIF files with LZW compression.
Step 2: Convert the raster images back to compressed PDF files.
Step 3: Merge the individual PDF files into a single multi-sheet PDF file.
Question: Some raster images are loading slowly in the PDF reader. What am I doing wrong?
Answer: Transparent raster images require considerable resources to display. Even though the source image is
not transparent, your CAD software may be plotting it with transparency (white pixels plotted as see-thru).
Be sure to set image transparency “off” before plotting.
