With the intention of providing builders with greater accountability, certainty, predictability, and reduced risk, drastic changes to the City of Surrey’s permitting process proposed by city staff have been approved by city council.

As a measure to address growing delays, the municipal government will be implementing guaranteed permitting timelines.

Single-family rezoning reports to city council must be completed in no more than 12 weeks.

For larger rezoning reports such as multi-family, commercial, and industrial applications, the guaranteed timeline is within 16 weeks, although there is an additional three to four weeks of processing time for applications requiring a level of review by the city’s Advisory Design Panel.

The municipal government already has a target of 10 weeks for building permits for single-family homes and tenant improvements, but this will now turn into a guaranteed permitting timeline.

In a report, city staff described this self-mandated approach as a “dramatic shift in the service delivery ethos” that is necessary to “enhancing customer service.”

“The guaranteed permitting timeline addresses a significant issue that builders have, which is when will they know if the permit has been approved or not,” said Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum in a statement.

“Surrey has proven to be a prime destination for new residents and businesses. That’s why Council has taken this significant step to improve the speed and predictability in the land development approval process. The guaranteed timeline will result in less idle time for builders and more accurate completion dates for people looking to move into their new home or business space.”

After extensive consultation with the development industry, this approach is a measure that is expected to help support housing affordability by helping keep costs low and accelerating the delivery of housing supply.

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