Peter Gross

About Peter Gross

Peter Gross is a partner in Gowling WLG's Toronto office, and municipal land use planning is the heart of the practice. Gross holds the Law Society of Ontario's Certified Specialist designation in municipal law (land use planning and development). Commercial developers and private owners turn to Gross when they need a municipality's sign-off, from a minor variance or a consent to sever right up to a plan of subdivision. Industrial clients call too, often about how existing operations sit next to proposed sensitive uses.

The career path runs through both sides of the planning table. Gross was admitted to the bar in Washington State in 1995 and called in Ontario in 2011. Along the way came a solicitor's role in the Town of Caledon's development approvals and planning policy department, then work at Wood Bull LLP on municipal land use planning and development.

A good share of the work is hearing work. Gross has regularly appeared in Planning Act appeals before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (formerly the Ontario Municipal Board) and the Toronto Local Appeal Body, and also defends clients facing regulatory prosecutions. Before a file ever gets that far, the partner works alongside planners and technical consultants on the application itself and keeps in touch with municipal staff so problems get sorted out early.

Outside client files, Gross served as a citizen director on the board of Toronto Lands Corporation and has held a string of posts on the Ontario Bar Association's Municipal Section executive, chair among them. Best Lawyers has recognized Gross since 2021, and the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada lists administrative and public law and municipal law.