City of Regina report says building permits take as much as 8 times longer than in Saskatoon
A new report by Regina administration looks at how the city can improve its building permit process, which can take as much as eight times longer than Saskatoon's on average.
The city hired an external consultant to review the situation in July 2019.
The resulting report is set to be considered by Regina's priorities and planning committee Wednesday.
"The Building Permits process has, for many years, received numerous complaints," says the introduction to the report in the committee agenda.
The report compares the time to obtain permits in Regina to some other major prairie cities.
Regina averages 43 days to approve a residential permit. Saskatoon averages five days to approve a similar permits, while Winnipeg averages 11 days and Calgary averages 21.
Commercial permits take an average of 65 days to get approved in Regina. This compares to averages of 25 to 50 days In Saskatoon, one to 29 days in Winnipeg and 49 to 56 days in Calgary.
The report said the city's permit and inspection service has public safety, public confidence and economic competitiveness as objectives.
"If the City fails to diligently conduct plan review, permit issuance and construction inspections, the City may face legal liability for resulting financial losses, personal injuries or death," the report says.
It says the service should focus on clarity, consistency, efficiency and predictability.
The report points to issues including staffing levels, cost recovery and the amount of days it takes to process permits as current issues.
Regina's permit service has about eight employees. By contrast, Saskatoon has 17 and Calgary has 36. The report recommends a workforce development plan to bring in qualified building officials and keep them for years.
The service was originally supposed to recover all costs through permit fees. Instead, a 2018 study found this isn't the case. To be able to recover all costs, a 14 per cent fee increase would have to be put in place immediately.
The report says the city should not increase fees right now and should focus on building confidence in the industry first.
The report also recommends:
A target of 10 days to provide a permit or comments for residential applications.
A target of 20 business days to provide a permit or comments on a commercial application.
The city attend association meetings.
The city educate people more on the building permit process.
A 2021 target plan for residential permits to take five business days, commercial permits to take 10 business days and resubmissions to take five business days.
Fees slowly be increased in 2021 until costs are fully recovered through the service.
More days be open for people to pay to have their application expedited.
Survey shows concerns around speed, efficiency and information
The city conducted a survey as part of the review. The majority of participants said they worked in the industry.
Eighty-seven per cent said said the building permits and inspection process is not efficient. Ninety per cent said the speed of service does not meet their needs.
Seventy-four per cent of people said they didn't communicate with the city in a way that works for them and 75 per cent said the City does not keep them informed about the status of their application.
