The City of Vancouver has a backlog of 500 applications from people seeking permits to build single-family homes, duplexes and laneway houses.

The backlog comes despite a council-initiated task force created early last year to reduce the time builders have to wait to get the necessary permits to build a house.

A city staff memo circulated to council Dec. 15, 2021 pointed to an “unprecedented” increase in applications for low-density housing such as single-family homes, duplexes and laneway houses.

An accompanying chart shows applications averaged 200 in the last half of 2020, with almost all permits issued within that timeframe.

Applications then began to soar in the first quarter of 2021 and reached more than 800 in the second and third quarters of the year.

“Despite the actions that [development, buildings and licensing] staff and the task force have taken, this increase in volume has created a backlog of 500 applications,” said the memo authored by Andrea Law, the city’s general manager of the development, buildings and licensing department.

Law said staff are expediting a number of changes to address the backlog.

“The team is now at the full staff complement and [the department] hired additional entry-level positions to address the additional spike in applications,” she said in the memo, which is now posted on the city’s website.

“In addition, the team is currently implementing process changes to reduce the time spent by staff in reviewing individual plans and increase our throughput.”

When council approved a motion in March 2021 to create a task force to reduce wait times, it also granted staff access to $1 million from contingency funds to kick-start the work.

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