Approval of Developments in Vancouver are nearly three times slower than in Calgary

Approval of developments in Vancouver is, on average, three times slower than in municipality areas such as Calgary, as indicated by the Municipal Benchmarking Study and published by the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) recently.

An estimated timeline for development applications takes an average of 15.2 months in Vancouver. This is an increase from the average of 13 months in 2020. This encompasses the entire process from

There were 21 municipal areas included in the CBHA study, and Calgary’s average time landed them in fifth place in the country, two months short of Charlottetown’s nation-leading pace of an average of 3.4 months. Toronto, on the other hand, has a 32-month timeline and is the slowest in the country. The report also examined Government charges (Development Cost Levies and Community Amenity Contributions in Vancouver), including planning features. Calgary ranked better than Vancouver in those respects as well.

How does Calgary manage to be so effective at approving developments?

Firstly, there are clear timeline obligations for nearly all aspects of development, including building permits, inspection, subdivision applications, and land use amendments, irrespective of whether residential, commercial, or industrial.

Timelines are “commitments” and not legalistic guarantees but estimated time frames and are of great help to developments that provide clarity when a financial proforma is needed. Without a clear timeline, delays can be expected, resulting in additional costs for the end user. No such timelines have been made in Vancouver, even though the city has shown interest in providing clearer timelines.

Ken Sim, the Mayor of Vancouver, indicated that the aim would be to approve permits for home renovations in three weeks, mid-rise projects without re-zoning in three months, and a high-rise building in one year.

Looking at Industrial real estate, because of all the “red tape” developers typically encounter, many businesses are moving away from British Columbia and directing their attention toward Atlanta. Recent news indicated that the City of Calgary granted 18 000 building permits with a total construction value of over $5.5 billion in 2022, with 88 000 new people expected in the city over the next five years. Vancouver’s open data portal reports that there were 5 914 building permits issued in 2022, which is three times less than in Calgary.