Permitting for construction projects within the electoral areas will soon be more straightforward, according to Capital Regional District (CRD) officials, but projects valued at over $1 million will see slightly higher fees — unless it’s for affordable housing.
Starting in March, building permits for the Salt Spring Island, Southern Gulf Islands and Juan de Fuca electoral areas will be issued through a simpler scheme that’s something of a prix fixe arrangement: the permit fee will now be inclusive of fees for demolition, plumbing and fireplaces.
In the past, builders seeking those permits would calculate and submit each based on variables such as the measurements of a demolition area or the number of plumbing fixtures, adding that to a permit fee derived from a table within the CRD bylaw.
Building inspections manager Calvin Gray said the system was a response to building industry concerns the current system was confusing; the intent was not to raise fees, although he admitted many projects will cost more to permit under the new scheme.
“We expect some changes depending on the construction value,” Gray told directors at the CRD’s Electoral Areas Committee meeting Wednesday, Jan. 14. “For smaller projects, the permit fees will actually be lower than what we presently charge; in bigger projects — more than a million [dollars] — they will actually be slightly more.”
Every project will begin facing a flat $300 non-refundable application fee, followed by a permit fee of 1.4 per cent of the construction value of the proposed work. Changes also include extending the permit period from two to four years and the permit activation period from six months to one year.
“That allows owners and builders more time to get financing, place orders and line up their trades,” said Gray.
Also included in the bylaw amendment is a reduction of permit fees by 50 per cent for affordable housing projects — specifically multi-unit residential projects with five or more units. The bylaw does not define “affordable,” but clarifies an “affordable housing unit” in the context of the new structure must be owned and operated by a non-profit or government organization for the purpose of providing “below market housing” — or, if a project is privately held, the owner is encumbered by a binding agreement to do so. It also must be subject to a separate housing agreement with a government agency restricting use of the units to “affordable or below market” housing.
CRD staff forecasted an approximately one per cent reduction in revenue resulting from those half-price permits, which they expect will be well offset by an anticipated five per cent increase as a result of a new minimum $300 “information request” fee.
The new bylaw also gets more specific with potential penalties for contravening it; where language in the old bylaw set a cap of $10,000 in fines, the new one lays out a mandatory minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $50,000 — and notes each day an offence continues constitutes a separate offence, each subject to its own penalty.
A communications plan will help the bylaw amendments be “understood and socialized” before the bylaw comes into effect March 1.