Surrey continues to cut red tape to modernize development and permitting process
At Monday’s Regular Council Meeting, Surrey City Council took significant steps to further streamline and expedite the development and permitting process.
Surrey, BC – At Monday’s Regular Council Meeting, Surrey City Council took significant steps to further streamline and expedite the development and permitting process. The improvements focus on the expansion of online permitting services and simplification of the tenant improvement approval process.
“From new home construction to tenant improvements, Council is committed to expediting our building permit process to help bring homes and commercial opportunities to market sooner,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “The goal is to reduce downtime as much as possible between application and the issuance of a permit. The expansion of online services to include development applications is a significant step in modernizing and streamlining the process. These substantial changes bring us closer to a fully online permitting system that is transparent, accessible, and intuitive to use.”
Online services expanded to include development applications
The City’s online permitting services has been expanded to include development applications. This is the first step in taking development applications, including rezoning and subdivision applications, online. This expansion builds on previous successful releases for multi-family and complex building permits, electrical permits, plumbing permits, sign permits and inspection requests. The next step for online development applications will include consolidated review and referral comments and improved approval milestones. Applicants will have the ability to track their progress and understand any required changes to move their application forward. These enhancements are intended to improve communication between applicants and staff, leading to a better understanding of process times.
Modernizing the approval process for tenant improvements
Council endorsed the modernized approval process which will simplify and streamline the approval process for tenant improvements. Some tenant improvement building permit applications have less complexity than others, such as minor commercial interior renovations. The new Minor Tenant Improvement Program will require less extensive plan review and can be supported by on-site reviews completed by City inspectors. The targeted review timeline for these building permits will be 2-3 business days. This initiative will be supported by a team of staff that will focus primarily on tenant improvement permits. In addition to the dedicated team, staff will implement simplified checklists, including website support for business owners, and a flat application fee to reduce complexity of application fees.
“The initiatives introduced at Monday’s Council meeting demonstrate the continued dedication championed by staff to streamline and simplify the development and permitting process,” said Ron Gill, General Manager of Planning & Development. “This includes adding more application types as part of the online services, working with applicants through the permit process, and ensuring applicants have clear and accessible information to navigate the approval process efficiently. The diverse range of enhancements will help standardize and improve the experience from application, to permit issuance, and inspections.
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