Municipal Addressing

A municipal address, or sometimes called a 911 address, civic address or street address, identifies the location of your property. Your municipal address helps emergency services locate you in an emergency situation and is also used for a variety of services such as mail or phone and for legal documents such as a driver's license.

The Township of Wainfleet has a Municipal Addressing Policy to guide addressing for properties. Highlights of the policy include:

Addresses have 5 digits;
Even numbers are allotted for the North and West sides of the street;
Odd numbers are allotted for the South and East sides of the street;
Addresses are assigned to the street that is used to access the property (location of driveway);
911 signs for properties with buildings are blue with white numbers;
911 signs for vacant farm parcels are yellow with black numbers;
Vacant parcels are not assigned an address, with the exception of farm parcels participating in the Farm 911 - Emily Project.

Applying for an Address

If you have a vacant property and you apply for a building permit, a municipal address will be assigned through the review of your permit application. The fee for the sign ($150) will be added to the cost of your building permit.

Planning staff will review your building permit application and assign a municipal address. Operations staff will then stake out the location of the sign, order locates to ensure the sign installation will not interfere with underground wires and pipes and then install the sign. Planning staff will also notify the following agencies of the new municipal address:

Telecommunications: Bell Canada, Telus and Cogeco;
School Boards: District School Board of Niagara, Niagara Catholic District School Board, Niagara Student Transportation Services;
Utilities: Hydro One, Enbridge Gas;
Canada Post;
Province: Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), Ministry of Health and Long Term Care;
Niagara Region: Geographic Information System (GIS) department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Niagara Regional Police Service;
Township of Wainfleet: Fire & Emergency Services, Tax Department, Operations Department.

If you would like to change your address, add unit numbers or have an additional address assigned to your property, please contact the Planner to discuss.

Farm 911 – The Emily Project

In support of the Farm 911 - Emily Project, vacant farm parcels (containing no structures) can now be assigned a municipal address. This will assist emergency services in locating an emergency incident on large parcels of vacant farmland.

Addresses are assigned based on the location of the field entrance to a public road. This is a voluntary program. If you wish to participate, please complete the Farm Parcel Municipal Address Application Form and submit the required fee ($140). You must identify the location of the field entrance on a map and submit that with your application form.

Planning staff will review the application and assign a farm parcel address. Operations staff will then contact you to schedule a time to meet at the property and stake out the location of the sign. This is to ensure that the placement of the sign won't impact your farming operation. Locates will be ordered to ensure the sign installation will not interfere with underground wires and pipes and then Operations staff will install the sign. Planning staff will also notify the following agencies of the new farm parcel address:

Bell Canada 9-1-1
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)
Niagara Region: Geographic Information System (GIS) department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Niagara Regional Police Service;
Township of Wainfleet: Fire & Emergency Services, Tax Department, Operations Department.

Sign Maintenance & Replacement

You are responsible for maintaining your 911 sign. Poor visibility can negatively affect the emergency response to your property. Maintenance includes cutting the grass and trimming the vegetation around the sign so that it is visible from the road.

If your sign becomes damaged, difficult to read (loses reflectivity) or goes missing, please contact the Operations Department to receive a replacement sign.