New permitting strategy will help build homes faster (flickr.com)

Media Contacts

George Smith

Director of Communications
Office of the Premier
George.Smith@gov.bc.ca

Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship

Media Relations
250 896-7365

Backgrounders

What people are saying about the Permitting Strategy for Housing

Linda Buchanan, mayor, City of North Vancouver 

“We all know that we need more homes for middle-income earners in every community across the province. But for too long, good projects have been stalled due to processing times, reducing affordability for people. That’s why I am pleased to see the Province tackle this issue and commit to modernizing the provincial permitting process. At the City of North Vancouver, we have already transitioned to a digital one-stop-shop for builders and have had great success in moving homes forward faster. All levels of government must commit to finding new ways to deliver homes for people in a timely way.”

Jen Ford, president, Union of BC Municipalities –

“Provincial permitting and authorization is a significant factor in the time needed to approve housing development. This new initiative responds to requests from our members for the streamlining of provincial processes. The additional resources to improve cross-ministry co-ordination are welcomed and we look forward to the launch of a single-application process.”

Neil Moody, CEO, Canadian Home Builders’ Association of British Columbia –

“This announcement responds to a long-standing challenge the residential industry has faced when moving through the complex, multi-layered provincial approval process. Our municipal benchmarking report showed that provincial reviews, often through multiple ministries, have contributed to prolonged approval timelines. We look forward to the Housing Action Task Force implementing a single, co-ordinated, housing-first approach on permitting so that builders can more quickly meet the housing needs of British Columbians.”

Chris Atchison, president, BC Construction Association (BCCA) –

“It’s well-known that permitting delays are adding risk and cost across the construction industry at every level, so any effort to speed things up is welcome. We appreciate that the provincial government has made housing construction a fast-track priority for natural resources permitting and look forward to the removal of barriers for other types of permits and a broader range of projects.”

Anne McMullin, president and CEO, Urban Development Institute (UDI) –

“UDI has long advocated for speeding up both municipal and provincial review processes, so we are pleased with today’s announcement to create a new Permitting Solutions Strategy for Housing. Our hope is that this co-ordinated approach will streamline the approval of much-needed housing across B.C.”

Rick Ilich, CEO, Townline Homes –

“The housing shortage is a major contributor to an affordability imbalance throughout the province and has been a long time in the making. It will take policy changes, action and co-operation from every level of government to make real change. The Province’s Permitting Solutions Strategy is a step in the right direction and will have benefits throughout B.C. Today’s announcement is proof that our provincial government is showing leadership by looking inward at their own structure and policy, I hope our civic politicians find inspiration in that.”