22 Jul 2024 Council meeting Housing

Development Approval Process Review

Motion
That Council endorse the final report dated June 2024 by Neilson Strategies Inc. titled “Development Approval Process Review”.
Minutes, page 10
This vote follows the minutes. The City’s vote record differs.
Sources
Agenda itemCity agenda
Staff reportPage 1
Purpose
To provide Council with the final report for the Development Approval Process Review prepared by Neilson Strategies Inc. and recommendations for consideration.
Staff report, page 1
Staff recommendation
That Council endorse the final report dated June 2024 by Neilson Strategies Inc. titled “Development Approval Process Review”.
Staff report, page 1
DocumentsStaff report about Economic Development, Housing, Land Use & Urban Form

Questions and answers

Councillor Janice Perrino
Speaker identificationConfident
Yes

asked
as well. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Prinu, worship. And a question through you to Mr. Holmes under number four. Target timeline recommendations. It says that the city defer the setting of targets until the new file software management platform is in place and other recommended changes and this report. Has been actioned. I'm just wondering. When the actual software management program will be in place. Thank you. Through your
J. Holm
Speaker identificationConfident
answeredDirector, Planning and Development
worship. Yeah, well, it's a phased implementation of the software. We're looking at. We're approaching the. Commercial complex building permit applications. Development applications first, and we're anticipating early part of 2025. We should have. Software updated to do that. Unfortunately. We're going to have later phases. That will take a little bit longer to implement. But one of the things with target timelines, obviously. Is just being able to access the data. There's a transparency. Issue with respect. To. There's also consistency issue with respect to sort of what you're measuring from when to when? At that point. So right now, we're not able to track. When time is with the applicant very consistently. We're not able to monitor with sort of granularity and transparency for process improvements. And that's. What this is trying to get at is with the software improvements. We'll have better granularity and transparency. Into where a file is at in process and where the hold
followed up
ups are. Okay. And one other question. On number nine role of engineering recommendations. I just wondered if. You could just. The language. Is not in so much lay terms. And I'm just wondering if you could tell me. Does that mean that if. A developing company brings their own engineers. Does that mean that we use their engineers, or do we still have to use our own. Or can you just explain it for me? Yes, sure. Through your
J. Holm
Speaker identificationConfident
answeredDirector, Planning and Development
Worship to Council Prince questions? So the reference to development engineering is within the planning and development section, which I look after. So there is a development engineering section. So that group reviews development-related civil works. And then under Mr. Sims' group, we have sort of the broader engineering function that looks after the city's infrastructure and planning for improvements and maintenance and operations of the city's infrastructure and setting the standards that the civil works are designed to.
followed up
Hopefully, that's making. Well, it doesn't, actually. Explain. So when they bring their own engineers, do we take advantage of them? I'm sorry. When I'm saying take advantage. Sorry. I don't mean to. Take, not taking advantage of. But do we take advantage of their expertise in the development? Yeah.
J. Holm
Speaker identificationConfident
answeredDirector, Planning and Development
Thanks. For the clarity. Absolutely. So the standards are set, the engineering standards. That we require the developers engineers to design to are established. By Mr. Sims Group, ultimately adopted by counsel the Manual of Engineering Standards and specifications, and then developers will design to those standards. They'll have their engineers designed to those standards. And then those designs will be reviewed. By the development engineering review group. That's in my area. That's Mr. Muso. And his team, so. We definitely get. We set the design standards and the developers engineer is involved. In developing the design to meet the standards, there's often. When there's a real world translation to the standards and the context. There's definitely room for engineering professional. Opinion in the design and when it meets the real world. And that's reviewed in concert. With the development Engineering Review Group in my area as well as Mr. Sim staff. I hope that helps. Very pleased to see this and hope it does help the process move along

Councillor Janice Perrino
Speaker identificationConfident
Yes

asked
Council. No, I appreciate the report. I think a lot of the recommendations made are address. Over the five, six years that I've been on council, a lot of the complaints. And constructive feedback about. The approval permitting process. And so putting energy to address these things would be great. And I'm just curious, in terms of. Councilor Hemmon touched on it, but just updating counsel on how the implementation, the recommendations are going. Is that something that you'd come to council every six months or so, just. To give us an update because I'd definitely be curious. Just sort of see how the implementation is going and where we're
J. Holm
Speaker identificationConfident
answeredDirector, Planning and Development
At in terms of enacting the recommendation. Yeah, of course. We're happy to do that. We do an annual development. Activity review. And happy to report. On progress at that point. If that's council's desire, we'd be happy to do
followed up
that. Thanks. That'd. Be great. And thanks for all the work put into this. No further questions. Motions on the