By Cheryl Jahn

Development Services under “continuous improvement”

Feb 9, 2023 | 4:00 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It was during the most recent budget discussions that Council learned about efforts by Development Services to improve on wait times for issuing building permits of various kinds. And having the department nearly fully-staffed helps.

“It’s close to being fully staffed,” explains Deanna Wasnik, Director of Planning and Development. “We still have a few vacancies. However, this is the most fully staffed we’ve been in a couple of years. Also, not only having staff in place to process our applications we deal with every day. It’s also having the processes that we follow to ensure that we have the most efficient timelines being met.”

According to a survey of 13 BC Municipalities by the Canadian Homebuilders Association, it takes 14 months for a rezoning application, 13 months for a development permit and 20 months for a subdivision permit.

“We are actually doing much better than that range as being displayed in that report. On average we have about 500 (permits) a year. That includes commercial, industrial, institutional, residential. Our commercial, institutional and industrial permits take about seven and a half weeks to process our residential, which is our apartments, the bigger multifamily, take about seven and a half weeks and our single-family dwellings take about four and a half weeks to issue.”

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The past three years have been record-breakers for not only the number of permitrs issued but also the value of those permits and that is not likely to change.

“Anticipating, with the numbers of rezonings and the subdivision applications we have in in the queue right now, we are anticipating another busy year building permits. Again, having staff that will help us carry the busy numbers through this season and hopefully with the most expeditious timelines as possible.”

She says, if COVID has taught the City anything, it is that the process can be streamlined using better technologies.

by Cheryl Jahn

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Development Services under “continuous improvement”

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