Whitehorse's housing committee has recommendations for improving the city’s building permit process.
Presented at a standing committee meeting on Sept. 3, the six recommendations were spurred by the delays encountered by builders this summer when trying to obtain building permits. The recommendations laid out by HLDAC – the Housing and Land Development Advisory Committee – are meant to mitigate the ripple effects of the slowdown.
Earlier this year, Whitehorse builders said they faced lengthy delays getting permits from the city. At the meeting, director of development services Mike Gau said the delays were due to staffing shortages, a new checklist for permits which raised the bar to ensure the national building code was being met, as well as applications for the 2023 and 2024 land lotteries entering the application process at the same time.
As of mid-August, wait times for building permits have returned to normal, said Gau. This means approximately two to three weeks for complete residential application and three to four weeks for commercial and industrial applications, Gau told the standing committee.
According to Gau, four of HLDAC’s six recommendations are being implemented currently. They include prioritizing reviews of new residential builds, exploring the delay’s effects on Whistlebend development, continuing to use external contractors, and looking at ways to bring on more building inspectors.
The other two recommendations require bylaw amendments, said Gau. One recommendation would extend permits by six months, so that they’re in place for when the building season begins in 2025.
The other recommendation would allow builders to pay permit fees when they start building, as opposed to when they apply. It would allow builders to apply whenever they want throughout the year, preventing a wave of permit applications in the spring, Gau told the News.
“They bring in a check and they're off to work, versus waiting for the reviews, which is what happens,” Gau said. “So people don't want to be out tens of thousands of dollars, for example, for six months over the winter, because they applied in November. Everybody waits until May, when they're ready to go. So we could have avoided some of this problem if it wasn't required in a bylaw.”
Gau said he expects the bylaw amendments to come before council early next year.
He also said the city is planning to run consultations about the permit process with the local building industry over the fall and winter as the building season comes to a close.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
