REQUEST FOR DIRECTION
DATE: January 4, 2016 Report No. DEV-16-003
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Planning Process Review - Implementing Efficiencies
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ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
Does Council support the recommendation to implement the recent and proposed initiatives by the Development Services Department to make the processing of planning and development applications more efficient and do they agree with the recommended amendments to the Development Application Procedures and Fees Bylaw No. 2791, 2012 that will help speed up the processing of some development permit applications and development variance permit applications?
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That the COTW receive Staff Report DEV-16-003 for information, provide any additional direction to staff as the COTW considers advisable, and direct staff to prepare a report for Council's consideration.
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BACKGROUND:
In the Mayor's year end address on December 14, 2015, she identified a "review of planning processes" as a priority for Council. The purpose of the review is to look for efficiencies that may help speed up the review process for certain development permit and development variance permit applications.
It should be noted that staff worked hard in 2015 to improve work efficiencies in order to maintain focus on application timelines. Critical to this process was the implementation of an internal project management system which tracks timelines for each application. The timelines are then is reviewed weekly at the regular team meeting. The use of this system has helped reduce "project slippage" by maintaining constant focus on timelines agreed upon with applicants. Recent feedback from applicants has generally been positive. The Director of Development Services has recently been receiving fewer complaints and more positive feedback related to the time it is taking to process applications. ...
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