The City of Vancouver has announced a new type of permit pathway for certain multiplex applications, which will cut those permitting times by 50 per cent and bring the city closer to its “3-3-3-1” goals for permit approval timelines.
Vancouver city council adopted the “3-3-3-1” framework at a June 13, 2023, meeting. It includes three days to approve home renovation permits, three weeks for single-family home and townhouse permits, three months for certain multi-family and mid-rise projects, and one year for high-rise or large-scale projects.
Since then, the city has taken various steps to deliver faster approval of much-needed housing. However, council's motion to adopt these time targets for permit approvals is an “ambitious target” that will require significant time and effort to achieve.
“I feel that with all of the technology we’re implementing and having that clear direction, it’s something that we will definitely be working toward and trying to accomplish over the next few years,” said Corrie Okell, the city’s general manager of development, buildings and licensing.
Okell said the city will shift a certain scope of multiplex into a combined development and building permit in January 2025. This stream is already in use for most smaller-scale housing developments, such as duplexes, laneway and single-detached homes.
“It’s the third ‘three’ in 3-3-3-1,” she said.
Currently, multiplex projects must apply for a development permit followed by a building permit. The new permit combines these two processes into one application. Multiplex applications with up to four dwellings on a single site and no more than two units per building will qualify.
Okell said this will eliminate redundancies and significantly reduce staff review time and applicant revision requirements.
“We will try to meet that target but it depends on how many applications there are,” she said. “For context, we thought we would get about 100 multiplex applications within the first year, and we’ve already received over 300 applicants.”
Even though application volumes are increasing, the city has been issuing faster approvals in year-to-date 2024 compared to 2023. Based upon medians, processing times for home renovations are 50-per-cent faster, new detached and duplex permits 25-per-cent faster and laneway home permits 60-per-cent faster.
These improvements have been achieved through a series of process, regulatory and policy changes made over the past three years and detailed in a June 26, 2024, council report.
“Rationalization of permitting and licensing processes to enable housing development and economic growth is a critical imperative for the City of Vancouver,” the city manager’s report stated.