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What does an Authority Need to Accelerate the Building Permit Process? A study to understand a building permit process By: Avinash Gupta, P.Eng., CBCO, CRBO, LBO Dominic Esposito, P.Eng.
Background The value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities rose 6.1% to $9.0 billion in August 2019, largely because of increases in multi-family and industrial permits. Gains were reported in seven provinces, with over one-third of the national increase in Québec. {Source(s): Statistics Canada Table 34-100066-01}
value of institutional permits, down 10.7% to $651 million. The value of permits was down in all three non-residential components in British Columbia, which also reported the most significant provincial declines in the values of commercial (-$118 million) and institutional (-$48 million) permits.
Purpose The value of permits for multi-family dwellings rose in every province, except Nova Scotia, increasing 18.8% to $3.3 billion in August 2019. Québec also contributed to the increase, up $143 million compared with July 2019. The value of permits for single-family dwellings rose 3.2% to $2.4 billion nationally, led by Ontario. These gains were largely attributable to several developers filing additional permits prior to an upcoming increase in development costs in the region. Industrial permits were the only component in the non-residential sector to increase in value, rising 18.9% to $675 million. The increase was largely due to a high-value permit for a biopharmaceutical company in the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) of Toronto. The value of commercial permits declined 5.9% to $1.9 billion, following gains in July 2019. Québec showed some strength in the commercial component (+$73 million) despite the national decrease.
This educational article explains the following: • Drawings and specifications that must be submitted to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to obtain a building permit quickly, • Information that must be included in the building permit submission, • The building permit’s purpose, when it is required, when it can be refused and when it can be revoked,
• Which and when drawings are required to be sealed and signed by a professional licensed to practice in the province/territory, and • The professional designer's seal's purpose and intent.
Limitation The article attempts to illustrate the building permit process's essence, and the designer must refer to the local bylaws for more specific information. The building permit's anatomy is immense, and each municipality has its building permit process; therefore, it is not practically feasible to pack all the information in this article. Impact of Delay in Obtaining a Permit The delay in obtaining a valid building permit has enormous consequences on an overall project in terms of financial budget, schedule over-run, arbitration,
Setbacks are created essentially for public safety, privacy, environmental protection, ensuring uniform appearance in the neighbourhood, and preventing houses from crowding adjacent structures or streets. On the other hand, spatial separation is the safe distance required by the building code for protecting the adjacent properties from a building in a fire; the Zoning bylaws enforce setbacks, and the adopted building code enforces spatial separation requirements. Usually, in most municipalities, there is no coordination between the plans examiner and the zoning officer.
Five provinces reported declines in the Canadian Fire Safety Association News | Spring 2022
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