There is no shortage of projects on the go at the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), with the Committee of the Whole receiving a nearly two-hour report on what’s on the docket at a Jan. 9 meeting.
In a presentation that ranged from efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and works with parks, to the building department’s hopes and dreams for 2024 and the planning department’s various priorities, the RMOW’s general manager of climate action, planning and development services, Dale Mikkelsen, ran the gamut.
The RMOW has big plans for the building department, with hopes to speed up application processing.
“Right now our applications, generally, across the board, take up to 40 weeks,” said Mikkelsen, who acknowledged municipal staff and councillors are well-versed with this application period, given frustrations from residents and builders.
Mikkelsen said the building department has goals in 2024 to speed up processing for all applications to 24 weeks—still slower than the benchmark eight to 16 weeks in B.C., but significantly faster than the current 40-week turnaround time.
“If we can get to that in one year, then we see that in 2025, 2026, we will become a ‘benchmark’ municipality. We will be able to match that benchmark,” he said.
“I hope that we’re here in front of you at the end of 2024 saying we’ve met these objectives.”
A smaller target the building department also hopes to achieve is 8 to 12 weeks for simple renovations, permits, and even simpler family home applications that come complete to the RMOW with little back-and-forth.
But how will the building department get there? For starters, Mikkelsen reported the RMOW has three new building officials in training this month who will now begin moving through the training process to become better versed with simpler applications, working up to complex applications over the years. The RMOW will also seek to hire a senior official in the building department to deal with complex applications requiring problem solving, rather than rote knowledge of bylaws and processes.
“I think we’re coming into 2024 with a tailwind, versus a headwind, which has been a big challenge, as we all know, with the number of applications our building department is being asked to process on a daily basis, monthly basis, yearly basis,” said Mikkelsen.
“Our intention is to increase our staff resourcing levels to support building permit application reviews and provide succession and development within the team.”
To affect the acceleration in permit processes, Mikkelsen also reported the RMOW will engage in a performance review by a third-party company to assess whether its plan and goals are appropriate; conduct an application form review to streamline the process and make it easier to understand; streamline internal workflow processes; introduce statistical reporting on permit review for public release; increase community education and engagement to help the public better understand how to submit complete applications; and increase visibility so applicants can see where their application is in the process.
“I think what we want to be able to do is have a front door and a clear and coherent application process,” said Mikkelsen, explaining the department wants the process clear enough that at the beginning of a permit application process, an application can be assessed—whether it is simple or complicated—and allocated to the staff best suited to hande it.
Over in the planning department, Mikkelsen reported RMOW staff are busy reviewing bylaws to ensure they align with new legislation introduced late last year that affects zoning rules across the province, including figuring out whether the only provincially-designated “transit-oriented development area” in Whistler, which is the Gondola Bus Exchange, even qualifies for the much denser building requirements.
The RMOW is working against the province’s timer on the legislation, which applies across the province.
Mikkelsen also gave a brief rundown on a number of major planned developments in the cards, including the 4500 Northlands development, which he described as “a very complex rezoning application.” It is a project that has long been on the radar.
“Staff will be coordinating a review of the community amenity contribution and understanding what the potential amenities are and the futures that are possible from the contribution,” said Mikkelsen. “We’ll also be reviewing the architectural massing and the form of the development for the community.”
According to Mikkelsen, a staff review is still underway through Q1 and Q2 of 2024, with “very comprehensive public engagement in Q2 and Q3 of this year, [in] at least two different pods of meetings and engagement.”
Watch the complete staff report on the RMOW website.
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