Local Governments Receive Grants to Speed up Delivery of Homes in B.C.

June 21, 2024

Thirty-eight local B.C. governments will soon receive a grant to create more efficient development approvals processes. 

“We’re leaving no stone unturned in our work to deliver more homes for people, faster,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “The Local Government Development Approvals Program was created so that local governments can improve the internal processes and development approvals, so that we can speed up the delivery of homes for people living and working in B.C.” 

The Local Government Development Approvals Program, administered through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM), was created to help local governments implement best practices and develop innovative ways to support non-profit housing organizations, developers and other stakeholders to speed up the delivery of homes.

“Our province continues to grow with more people than ever before choosing to call B.C. home,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Municipal Affairs. “We’re continuing to support local governments’ ability to move forward with housing, and this grant funding will help new homes get built faster and more efficiently throughout the province for many years to come.”

The following projects are examples of how the program will help local governments meet housing needs in their communities:

  • The City of Burnaby will continue streamlining approval processes for simple and complex buildings. This includes developing business-process documentation and approvals guidance for staff and applicants, undertaking change-management activities and building staff capacity.
  • The District of Peachland will initiate a development-approval streamlining project to clarify and improve the development-application process. The project will involve co-ordinating with neighbouring communities to increase consistency across jurisdictions and facilitating collaboration across departments to reduce application delays.
  • The Regional District of Mount Waddington is developing a pre-application process so applicants are aware of varying requirements needed for their applications so there is less delay when asking for information.
  • The Village of McBride is exploring ways to improve and expedite the development-approval processes and bylaws to get more homes and businesses built within the community quicker.

The Province has provided approximately $4.4 million toward the 2024 intake. The program was open to all municipalities, regional districts and the Islands Trust.  

“Local governments throughout B.C. have been implementing changes to streamline development-approvals processes to address community-building goals,” said Trish Mandewo, president, UBCM. “This funding will help catalyze that work and support local governments as they implement best practices related to permit approvals, inspections and more.”

Quick Facts:

  • Applications for the 2024 Local Government Development Approvals Program closed March 8, 2024.
  • To date, the Province has provided local governments with approximately $19 million to improve development programs through the Local Government Development Approvals Program.  

Source

Related Articles


Latest Articles

  • Maximizing Excel: Practical Use Cases for Preconstruction

    Maximizing Excel: Practical Use Cases for Preconstruction

    November 8, 2024 By Melvin Newman Excel is a powerful and flexible tool that can enhance efficiency in electrical construction estimating.  Spreadsheets, like those in Excel, consist of a grid of “cells” where each cell can hold various types of data. Originating from mainframe computers in the 1960s and later developed for Apple computers in… Read More…

  • The Non-Residential Sector Declines in All Three Components Despite Sustained Industrial Permit Level

    The Non-Residential Sector Declines in All Three Components Despite Sustained Industrial Permit Level

    November 4, 2024 The total value of building permits in Canada decreased by $858.1 million (-7.0%) to $11.5 billion in August, following a strong July during which construction intentions rose sharply (+20.8%). The residential and non-residential sectors contributed to the decrease in August. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits decreased 7.6% in… Read More…

  • A Slight Decrease in Residential Building Construction for August

    A Slight Decrease in Residential Building Construction for August

    November 4, 2024 Investment in building construction edged up 0.2% to $21.0 billion in August, after a 1.6% decrease in July. The residential sector edged down (-0.1%) to $14.6 billion, while the non-residential sector was up 1.0% to $6.4 billion. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 7.2% in August. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction was… Read More…

  • When a Familiar Door Closes

    When a Familiar Door Closes

    November 4, 2024 By Keith Sones, seasoned utility industry executive Most of the articles I’ve written have been based on personal experiences, many of them occurring decades ago, which eventually translate into helpful life lessons. The years allow the events to marinate in a savoury stew of time and reflection, clarity never coming immediately, or even… Read More…


Changing Scene