Industry body’s president says the city’s permit backlog has reached a “crisis stage”
The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) has called on the city of Vancouver to digitize its permit application process.
In a letter to city officials, Chris Atchison, president of BCCA, said that Vancouver’s permit backlog has reached a “crisis stage,” with consequences across construction sectors and geographic regions – including skilled labourers facing layoffs due to delays and developers who “may compromise the integrity of their submissions because of the unreliability and inconsistency of the city’s permitting process.”
Read more: Construction delays are making Canada’s housing supply issues worse
“Why invest the time and resources needed if the odds of delay are so great that they outweigh the risks of compromises in compliance?” Atchison said. “These shortcuts will be felt in the procurement and build phases, impacting costs and timelines, as well as safety, which negatively impacts the reputation and efficiency of our industry.”
According to Atchison, the added urgency of the housing situation in British Columbia – heightened by the pressures from the pandemic and extreme wildfire – makes it “crucial that industry and government work together to find solutions.”
“Standard business procedures should not be posing such significant challenges,” Atchison said. “A shift to digital submission is called for, and I know this point has been made by others.”
