Vancouver’s mayor is proposing a change he says could cut some red tape from the city’s notoriously Byzantine building approval process.

Developers have complained for years as Vancouver’s approval system became increasingly onerous, adding time and money to the process, which, they argued, helped push up housing costs.

Of course, every industry, whether it’s real estate developers, petroleum producers or dairy farmers, advocates for reforms to make their business operations easier. But Vancouver’s non-profit housing community, too, has pushed for years for a faster, smoother approval process.

Providers of both market and non-profit housing agree: a cumbersome bureaucracy makes it harder and more expensive to build the very kinds of homes Vancouver’s senior officials and politicians say the city needs, including more rentals and affordable homes for people earning median and lower incomes. City hall, too, has acknowledged the problem, both under the current and previous administrations, launching large-scale reviews and reforms in recent years, after the city has lagged far behind its own housing targets.

Now, Mayor Kennedy Stewart has a motion on this week’s council agenda that’s relatively straightforward and concise, as these things go. Instead of directing staff to launch a comprehensive study and produce recommendations, Stewart seeks council’s approval on a single proposed change: remove the requirement for builders to submit an “enquiry” before they can file a formal rezoning application.

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