D-6-1 Industrial Categorization Criteria

A guide for land use planning authorities on the appropriate distances between industrial areas and sensitive land uses like people’s homes and workplaces.

Industrial categorization criteria *
Category	Outputs	Scale	Process	Operation /Intensity	Possible examples **
Class I	Noise: Sound not audible off property Dust and/or Odour: Infrequent and not intense Vibration: No ground borne vibration on plant property	No outside storage Small scale plant or scale is irrelevant in relation to all other criteria for this Class	Self contained plant or building which produces/stores a packaged product. Low probability of fugitive emissions	Daytime operations only Infrequent movement of products and/or heavy trucks	Electronics manufacturing and repair Furniture repair and refinishing Beverages bottling Auto parts supply Packaging and crafting services Distribution of dairy products Laundry and linen supply
Class II	Noise: Sound occasionally audible off property Dust and/or Odour: Frequent and occasionally intense Vibration: Possible groundborne vibration, but cannot be perceived off property	Outside storage permitted Medium level of production allowed	Open process Periodic outputs of minor annoyance Low probability of fugitive emissions	Shift operations permitted Frequent movement of products and/or heavy trucks with the majority of movements during daytime hours	Magazine printing Paint spray booths Metal command Electrical production manufacturing Manufacturing of dairy products Dry cleaning services Feed packing plant
Class III	Noise: sound frequently audible off property Dust and/or Odour: Persistent and/or intense Vibration: Ground-borne vibration can frequently be perceived off property	Outside storage of raw and finished products Large production levels	Open process Frequent outputs of major annoyances High probability of fugitive emissions	Continuous movement of products and employees Daily shift operations permitted	Manufacturing of paint and varnish Organic chemicals manufacturing Breweries Solvent recovery plants Soaps and detergent manufacturing Manufacturing of resins and costing Metal manufacturing

Note: Emissions may be point source or fugitive.

* Note: This Table should not be considered a comprehensive list but is to be used to provide examples of industrial categories.

** Note: The following examples are not limited to the Class indicated on the Table. The categorization of a particular industry will vary with the specifics of the case.

Source: The criteria for categorizing industries into Class I, II or III are derived from Ministry experience and the investigation of complaints related to industrial facilities.

Updated: July 13, 2021

Published: February 26, 2016