Builders and developers in Powell River are increasingly frustrated with City of Powell River bureaucracy.
In June, builders, developers, city councillors and staff, including the planning department, met to discuss possible solutions, according to an update from Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman to committee of the whole on August 14.
As a result of the meeting, city planning will be reporting on a proposal to council for a pilot project that will expedite building permits for developers.
Complete Construction Services president Troy Marshall said builders in Powell River want less bureaucracy and more ease in building.
“When we're held up months and months in permitting processes in the bureaucracy of city hall it makes it very difficult to meet the needs of the community,” said Marshall.
The bottleneck in the three-person planning department is not helping builders meet the demands of what Marshall said was a housing crisis with zero rentals and a very hot real estate market.
“If the industry can build quicker and get on the ground quicker then that means more houses on the market and more rentals,” he said.
Marshall said the permit process has gone from one or two weeks to upwards of eight weeks.
Contributing to the problem is the fact that the planning department also has to deal with people wanting to build a carport, an addition, a deck or a renovation, which all require permits and push licensed builders down to the bottom of the list to wait, according to Leishman.
That delay can take away the window for building, said Marshall, and winter construction can be very demanding and costly. It also means lost wages for trades people.
