City of Vancouver makes headway on new development application backlog
Michelle McNally
Livabl
More homes could be reviewed, approved and built soon as the City of Vancouver makes its way through a glut of new residential development applications that would bring additional housing to the city.
This week, Vancouver said that the City Manager’s Permitting Task Force has cleared an intake backlog of more than 500 development applications for new single-family properties, duplexes, and laneway homes. Staff have also reduced wait times for permits and licences, and been implementing City Council priorities and Task Force recommendations which have resulted in faster processing times, the City stated in a press release.
Of the 500 applications, 450 are now being processed. The remaining 50 are with the applicants to provide more information.
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“We know businesses and residents expect our support with post pandemic economic recovery, and we are excited to see that all the permit improvements we have made are having a positive impact,” said Andrea Law, the City of Vancouver’s general manager of development, buildings and licensing. “We remain committed to improving our permitting and licensing programs through open and transparent collaboration with industry partners and stakeholders.”
In March 2021, Vancouver City Council acknowledged that the improvement of wait times and clearing the application backlog was a priority. The City Manager’s Task Force was established with $1 million in funding. Actions that have been made to date are expected to save up to 13,800 weeks of processing, the City says.
Through the use of improved processes and tools, the City of Vancouver stated that review time for each single-family, duplex, and laneway application has shrunk by about 75 per cent. As a result, there has been a 300 per cent increase in the number of applications processed.
Applicants are now contacted within two to three business days from their application submission, which is 15 to 16 weeks faster than before. Laneway applications specifically are receiving initial review three months faster, while permits for simple renovations are being delivered as soon as two weeks compared to seven weeks.
The City Manager’s Task Force will continue to review opportunities to reduce processing times, Vancouver says, and there are ongoing consultations with industry stakeholders to discuss and identify more opportunities to improve processes and wait times. The next update and set of recommendations will be brought to Council later this year.
An online enquiry and application page will be launched this spring for businesses who require a change in use or occupancy.
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