Find your opportunity · Step 3 of 3 · Business starter plan

Business starter plan: Trades or services in Mulmur

How this differs: this is the full picture for your choices. For just what you legally need to open (registrations, licences, permits), see the Permits & registration checklist.

Business: Trades or servicesCommunity: MulmurBudget: $50,000 to $150,000Stage: Just exploring

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General information only. This is not legal, financial or real-estate advice. Rates and fees change: confirm every figure with the municipality and agency named before you rely on it, and speak to an accountant or lawyer before you sign a lease, buy property or commit money. Free, confidential help: the Orangeville and Area Small Business Enterprise Centre (serves Dufferin County; 519-941-0440 ext. 7310, [email protected]).

Every figure comes from data WhyDufferin publishes, with its source and the date it was checked. Values we could not find in an official source say "not found"; nothing is estimated for you except where you enter your own numbers. Nothing you enter leaves this browser.

1. One-time start-up costs

ItemRateYour estimate
Development charges, industrial (local + County + education) Source: Township of Mulmur Development Related Charges page, checked 2026-10-21
· 2026 indexed rates not found on the Township site (2024 by-law base: $4.20/sq ft non-residential, indexed each January 1).
not foundnot found
Water/sewer connection (hook-up) feenot foundnot found
Ask the town; it is not in our published data.
Fit-out, equipment, inventory, depositsnot foundEnter your own quotes in the forecast below.

Development charges are one-time fees paid at building permit (residential may be deferred to occupancy under Bill 17, 2025). They are indexed each year; confirm before budgeting.

Yearly running costs that follow from your site

ItemPublished figureYour estimate / yr
Lease, industrial average net rent
Orangeville (2026): $13.76/sq ft/yr Source: Orangeville Official Plan Review – Employment Land Use Strategy technical memo (Parcel Economics, Aug 13 2026), Figures 2.2–2.3, based on CoStar, checked 2026-10-21
Dufferin County (2026): $12.01/sq ft/yr Source: Orangeville Official Plan Review – Employment Land Use Strategy technical memo (Parcel Economics, Aug 13 2026), Figures 2.2–2.3, based on CoStar, checked 2026-10-21
WhyDufferin listings in Mulmur: 1 with a stated rent, $30.46–$30.46/sq ft/yr Source: Commercial space listings
$12.01–$13.76/sq ft/yr
Net rent; taxes, maintenance and insurance (TMI) usually extra.
$18,015/yr
Property tax, industrial class Source: Township of Mulmur 2026 Tax Rates, checked 2026-10-213.1546% of assessed value (2026: municipal 1.323461% + County 0.951116% + education 0.88%)$15,773/yr

$500,000 is an example; use the assessment on the property's notice or listing. If you lease, tax is usually passed through in TMI.
Water and sewer Source: Township of Mulmur Water Study and Financial Plan (O.Reg. 453/07), 2025, projected rates table, checked 2026-10-21Mansfield hamlet only (154 customers) / None found
$116.15 per quarter (3/4" meter)
$5.91/m³
$1,528.00 typical 180 m³/yr residential-size bill (Rate study figure for 180 m³/yr (water only)); a business using more water pays more

2. Approvals: who you deal with in Mulmur

Planning authority
Council decides zoning, consents and subdivisions; OP approval rests with the County. In the NEC area, NEC development permits apply. Source: source
Official Plan
New Official Plan adopted by By-law 17-2026. County approval status: not found. Source: Official Plan
Zoning
New Comprehensive Zoning By-law, consolidated December 2025 (by-law number not shown on the page) Source: Zoning by-law
Zoning map
not found (PDF Schedules A and B)
Pre-consultation
Pre-consultation application form on the planning page Source: source
Committee of Adjustment
not found
Fees
User fees and charges Source: fee by-law
Community improvement plan
not found
Contact
Township office · (705) 466-3341 · [email protected] Source: source
Conservation authority
Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) (100% of the municipality) · permits: permits page · regulation map not found · 705-424-1479 · [email protected] (planning: [email protected])
Special plan areas
Niagara Escarpment Plan: 34.6% of area · Greenbelt: yes, the NEP area (about 35%) · Oak Ridges Moraine: none

Typical path

  1. Check the property. Look up zoning and the OP designation on the town or County map. Check whether it sits in a conservation authority regulated area (the CA's map) or the Niagara Escarpment Plan area (Mono and Mulmur).
  2. Pre-consultation. Meet the town's planning staff. They tell you which applications and studies make the application complete, and they circulate it to the County and the CA. Some towns charge for this, and Mono requires it.
  3. Zoning or OP change, if needed. Council decides zoning amendments. Local OP amendments go to the County for approval, except in Orangeville and Mono, which approve their own.
  4. Minor variance or severance. The Committee of Adjustment hears minor variances, and consents in most towns. In East Garafraxa the Township handles consents.
  5. Site plan approval. Most commercial and industrial projects need it from the town (Planning Act s.41), with an agreement and securities.
  6. Other permits. A CA permit is needed for work in a regulated area (O. Reg. 41/24). In the NEC Development Control Area, an NEC development permit is needed before a building permit.
  7. Building permit and charges. Get the building permit, then pay development charges (see Costs) and pass inspections before occupancy.

From the Planning page, checked 2026-10-21.

3. Local market and gaps

No directory category for this type yet.

Gaps nearby

  • 🗺 Hair salon / barber in Mulmur: 0 mapped vs ~1.3 expected; nearest Changes Hair Studio (~14.3 km) · score 46
  • 🗺 Bank / credit union in Mulmur: 0 mapped vs ~1.1 expected; nearest Scotiabank (~13.6 km) · score 43
  • 🗺 Beauty / nail / spa in Mulmur: 0 mapped vs ~0.9 expected; nearest Glomalin (~11.3 km) · score 39

People and demand

Population 2021
3,571 (2.7% since 2016)
Median household income
$114,000
Participation
64.8%
Unemployment
9.9%
Commute out of town
87%
Renters
5.4%

Verified fact StatCan 2021 Census.

4. Labour and drive times

Labour force in Mulmur (2021 Census)

Labour force
2,015
Participation
64.8%
Unemployment
9.9% (May 2021, COVID period)
Commute outside Dufferin
66.7%
Work in same municipality
13%
Drive to work
95.6%
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile, checked 2026-10-21

Wages for this kind of work

  • Trades, transport and equipment operators: middle of occupation medians $34/h (range $19.5 Automotive and heavy truck and equipment parts installers and servicers to $73.95 Air traffic controllers and related occupations)

ER3540 Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie. Job Bank publishes wages per 5-digit occupation (NOC 2021), not per major group. Here each occupation with an hourly regional median is grouped by its NOC broad category (first digit). 'Middle of medians' is the median of those published occupation medians, a summary we computed, not an official group wage. Occupations shown only at an annual rate are left out. Source: ESDC Job Bank wage data (open data, revised 2025-11-19), checked 2026-10-21

Drive times from Mulmur

Hwy 401
82 min (81.1 km)
Pearson airport
92 min (81.7 km)
Downtown Toronto
105 min (105.4 km)
Guelph
100 min (91 km)
Barrie
61 min (48.8 km)

Free-flow estimates (no traffic), computed 2026-10-21. Method

Internet

72.7% of populated areas have 50/10 Mbps for over 75% of households. Source: ISED National Broadband Data (Data_Hex_Donnees, Avail_50_10_Gradient_Dispo), files dated 2026-05-05, checked 2026-10-21

5. Your 12-month launch checklist (Just exploring)

Permits & registrations for a trades or services


  • Orangeville & Area SBEC · Official source

  • ServiceOntario · Official source

  • Canada Revenue Agency · Official source

  • Township of Mulmur · Official source

  • Township of Mulmur · Official source

  • WhyDufferin funding finder · Official source

  • Dufferin Board of Trade · Official source

  • WhyDufferin utilities guide (links to each utility) · Official source

Timing is a suggested order, not a deadline. Ticks are saved only in this browser. Full checklist with notes: Permits & registration checklist.

6. Forecast calculator

Your estimate, based on numbers you entered. Only the fixed costs are prefilled from the published figures above; edit any of them. Revenue, prices, staff and other costs are yours. Saved only in this browser.

Revenue
StaffPrefilled: Trades, transport and equipment operators middle of medians, ER3540 Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie (Job Bank, checked 2026-10-21). Add payroll costs (CPP, EI, WSIB) to the wage if you want them included.
Fixed costs per month (prefilled, editable)
Start-up

General information only. This is not legal, financial or real-estate advice. Rates and fees change: confirm every figure with the municipality and agency named before you rely on it, and speak to an accountant or lawyer before you sign a lease, buy property or commit money. Free, confidential help: the Orangeville and Area Small Business Enterprise Centre (serves Dufferin County; 519-941-0440 ext. 7310, [email protected]).

WhyDufferin is independent and not affiliated with Dufferin County.