Getting more complete information at the building application stage will play a key role in speeding up the permitting process in Nanaimo.
At a city council meeting Oct. 16, the co-chairs of the joint building permit advisory working group, Jeremy Holm, city director of development approvals, and Darren Moss, director with Tectonica Construction Management, presented an update on the group’s work to streamline and speed up building application processing times.
“As we know, building permits in most municipalities are a challenge in most communities right now and, as we dug into it in our community, we discovered that there’s quite a bit of tension that built up over time between the development community and [city] staff,” Moss said.
The working group, composed of five members of the local building industry and five city staff members, has been able to address some of the friction between the city and developers and also made changes to the development application intake process that should have some “meaningful impact,” Moss said.
Among several changes made, the working group has updated a detailed guide to building permit applications and a building permit application checklist.
New forms added to the application process include the building code analysis form, a development permit compliance checklist, occupancy, code and safety drawing and a first pass review critical elements checklist. The added forms are intended to help ensure all information needed for an application to move forward for review and approval is submitted the first time and doesn’t have to be sent back to have missing information added.
“We’ve tried to do that in such a way that industry doesn’t have to put in a lot of extra effort into the application process … So, the intent is to standardize how information is conveyed so that staff can also review and confirm that the co-ordinated package is complete and correct in a more timely manner,” Moss said.
The results of the building application review and update process that was started in 2021 will be put to the test in a soft launch by the city starting Nov. 15. There will be several months to get the the building industry and city staff accustomed to the new application process and work out any kinks before the system comes fully into effect in a “hard launch” in early 2024.
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Coun. Tyler Brown wondered if adding more forms to the application process might not raise the potential for further complication and delays.
“The honest answer is, we hope not,” Moss said. “We basically took forms that were the traditional building form that you’d be familiar with and we changed the style of input. So, basically it’s a checklist that requires the applicant to acknowledge all the code requirements, but it’s not a difficult process to do that and the typical way that information’s conveyed has been consolidated into schedules and graphics. … So, an adjustment, yes, but it should be less work for the industry once they know how to do it.”
Coun. Erin Hemmens asked when the streamlined permitting process might start to produce shorter wait times given the need for affordable housing starts, and Holm replied the impacts should be realized “shortly” after the new system is implemented.
Hemmens also asked if the new forms had been reviewed by local developers.
“That’s part of the idea behind the soft launch is we’ll be able to adjust before we get ruthless with whether or not applications are complete,” Holm said. “So we need to get feedback from industry and adjust accordingly and make sure that it’s working for them.”
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chris.bush@nanaimobulletin.com
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