Hussnain recently joined the RFA Planning team in 2025. He is a Member of the Canadian Association of Certified Planning Technicians, a Candidate Member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and has completed Introduction to Project Management at the Project Management Institute. Hussnain brings a strong foundation in design, problem-solving, and the ability to work across scales. Recently, he has held the position of Planner 1 for the City of Markham, where he provided recommendations on a range of projects with a focus on low-rise residential, ICI projects, and assisted with the Comprehensive Zoning By-law.
He worked at Markham as a planner concurrently while completing his Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University (April, 2023), where he developed expertise in land use, financial literacy, policy planning and legislative frameworks, and is also a recipient for the Canadian Institute of Planners Graduating Student Scholarship (2023).
Prior to Markham, working at Sajecki Planning Inc. as a GIS Analyst provided him the importance of understanding and validating design decisions through data analysis, user research, and prototyping, as my project was based on creating new ward boundaries that respected equal or an accepted population variance.
At Dalhousie University, he is currently completing a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies (Architecture) where his personal research focus is on humanitarian architecture and on the ‘the spaces in between’ as a model for housing development, inspired by projects like the Torre de David in Venezuela.
“Like the traveller Ibn Battuta, I walked cities to understand them. Like the poet Rumi, I sought the inner meaning behind their forms. Now, as I weave been both planning and architecture, I carry both the map and the mystery, and like Renzo, intend to craft spaces that listen before they speak, and belong before they impose.”
Outside of the office, Hussnain loves to travel and undertake self-guided tours of cities across Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia (10 + countries and more to be explored) seeking out to understand architecture and actively explore humans’ intimate relationship with dwellings as it responds to a universal longing that exists within all of us and it is constantly evolving with society’s changing parameters.
- Bachelor of Science Double Major in Health Science and Psychology – University of Toronto (2016-2019)
- Introduction to Project Management – Project Management Institute (2022)
- Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning – Toronto Metropolitan University (2023)
- Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies (Architecture) – Dalhousie University (Present)
Land Use Planning and Related Services
- Conduct land use research from various sources using GIS mapping, Zoning By-laws, Official Plans, and applicable provincial policies; review deeds and survey plans.
- Processing and review of Planning Act Applications at the municipal level.
- Prepare presentations on planning related matters for a wide range of planning projects.
- Organize and administered property records including Site Plan Control Agreements and Subdivision Agreements.
- Investigation and preparation of Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) Calculations.
- Knowledge and understanding of the Heritage Designation process under the Ontario Heritage Act.
- Completion of numerous Zoning Compliance Letters.
Planning Design and Technology
- A sound understanding of the principles and concepts pertinent to developing geographic information systems (GIS) and utilizing those systems in a variety of urban planning projects.
- Ability to assess the suitability of technology such as GIS to support planning tasks.
- Knowledge and application of ESRI ArcGIS and ArcGIS Pro.
Private Development
- Understanding the importance of the impact of government policies and current development issues.
- The ability to interpret why developers undertake activities in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors under present market and government constraints.
Planning Law
- Extensive knowledge of the planning legislation in the Ontario context, including Official Plans, zoning and related instruments and their interpretation.
- The legal rulings of the Committee of Adjustment and subdivision powers.
- 2025 – Present
RFA Planning Consultant Inc., Belleville, Ontario – Urban Designer / Planner - 2023 – 2025
City of Markham, Ontario – Urban Planner – Development - 2021 – 2023
City of Markham, Ontario – Lead Development Technician - 2020 – 2021
Sajecki Planning Inc., Toronto, Ontario – GIS Analyst
- Member, Canadian Association of Certified Planning Technicians (2021)
- Candidate Member – Ontario Professional Planners Institute (2024)