Report highlights steps cities could implement to increase housing

As cities across Canada look to increase housing a new report is showing some of the steps municipalities like Winnipeg could take to streamline the permitting process.

The report comes from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) which studied the permit process for a $20,000 conversion of a powder room into a full bathroom across Canada.

It found in Winnipeg, that project would require seven different documents prior to work even commencing at a cost of $380.

“It’s a disincentive for people who want to upgrade their home to have a secondary suit. If that’s what it costs to upgrade just the bathroom, imagine the overall cost of a whole project,” said Brianna Solberg, the director of Legislative Affairs with Prairies and Northern Canada at the CFIB.

The CFIB’s report recommends specifically for Winnipeg to have a centralized place to allow people to apply for various permits rather than going to different departments, something some builders in the city would like to see.

“The ability for a simpler, streamlined process that would involve making the application to at least one person. That person perhaps could be a coordinator that dealt with various departments, because it could become very confusing very fast,” said Cory Kloos, co-owner at Macanta Design Build Inc. “During the COVID times some of the delays translated to tens of thousands of dollars lost. That hurts, we are not a multinational corporation, we are a small business.”

City committee looking to take action

Councillor Sherri Rollins who chairs the city’s Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development says, she’s read the report and says the city will be looking at streamlining the permitting process.

“That’s something we will be talking about this month at the council committee of property and development, where we are launching a three-step process and promise more on making sure we are eliminating the red tape developers and builders want us to eliminate on development permits and rezoning,” said Rollins.

According to Rollins, that three-step process which is expected to take place over the coming months will include looking at process times for permits, making sure a person from the city is able to help during the permit process, and utilizing technology in digitalizing aspects of the process.

The Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development is also set to discuss a motion Thursday that would give the director of planning, property and development the power to decide if a project even requires a development permit.

“Take for example a washroom, where there is no change of use, a washroom existed and now you are renovating a washroom. Everybody has criticized why we have a development permit on that. Things like that, where there is no change of use, you could envision something quicker,” said Rollins.

Kloos added, “I think everyone is on the same page. We all agree things need to be changed. That becomes more complex as our city grows. Let’s work together and get it done.”