Whereas the Province is seeking to increase the speed of development across British Columbia amidst a shortage of affordable housing and housing supply options for British Columbia; And whereas development approval processes within municipalities can be streamlined to expedite approvals; And whereas these development approvals can be significantly delayed by the development review processes within the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, or BC Hydro; And whereas UBCM recognizes the efforts by the Province to try and improve the development approval process through the Development Approvals Process Review DAPR: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urges the Province to expedite the review timeframe for all development applications that require approval from the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and BC Hydro.
Ministry of Housing The Province initiated the Development Approvals Process Review in 2018, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of local development approvals processes. Extensive local government and stakeholder engagement identified provincial referrals and regulatory requirements as a challenge. Through the recently released Homes for People action plan, government is taking action to speed up permitting and approvals to get homes built faster. This includes reducing costs and delays associated with the time-intensive re-zoning processes and expediting provincial permitting. Legislative changes introduced in Fall 2023 support local governments to shift to upfront planning i.e., pre-zoning and reduce the number of site-by-site rezonings. Ministries are working closely to integrate different types of permits across the housing development process, with a common goal of making permitting processes for housing more transparent and easier for homebuilders and developers to understand how to comply with permit and regulatory requirements. In September 2023, an updated single window approach was launched by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship WLRS, for all housing-related permits overseen by the Provincial Natural Resource Ministries. The Single Housing Application Service SHAS connects homebuilders to dedicated staff called Navigators, who partner and guide applicants through all stages of the permit process, act as the single, dedicated point of contact for all information relatedto housing-related permits and co-ordinate the permitting process across the natural resource ministries. The SHAS will help deliver more homes faster by identifying opportunities to coordinate and integrate the provincial permits that homebuilders need for their projects. The Housing Action Taskforce HAT led by WLRS and supported by the Ministries of Environment and Climate Change, Forests and Transportation and Infrastructure are identifying and prioritizing housing-related permits. HAT is focused on clearing natural resource ministry permit backlogs and developing strategic solutions to accelerate housing-related permits while maintaining high environmental standards. With the introduction of SHAS, the Province expects permit timelines to be reduced by two months. These improvements in provincial permitting and the new legislation being introduced will improve system-wide efficiency of development approvals, help local governments improve their processes and bring in the changes needed to reduce delays in approving housing projects. URLs Development Approvals Process Review: https:www2.gov.bc.caassetsgovbritish-columbians-our-governmentslocal-go… Homes for People: https:news.gov.bc.cafilesHomesForPeople.pdf