At their committee meeting on Monday night, Central Saanich district staff and council discussed the benefits of offering a ‘fast track’ residential building permit process that would see a faster turnaround on permits within the district.
Currently Langford, Sooke, Colwood and North Saanich offer quick-turnaround permits, in some cases both two-day and five-day permits, and staff said the process would offer an increased level of service to developers, contractors and homeowners.
“It comes down to educating (applicants) ahead of time and telling them exactly what we need on the applications,” said Director of Planning and Building Services, Bruce Greig.
The fast-track permits would require applicants to ensure the highest level of detail is included on the application, thus making the job of reviewing and approving applications faster, he explained. Applications status can already be viewed on the district’s website, he added.
The general consensus from staff on the fast-track process was positive, and councillors seemed receptive to the idea of offering an increased level of service to applicants.
“I want to applaud staff on this initiative,” said Councillor Carl Jensen. “This seems like a great step forward for the district.”
The fast-track process only pertains to building permits and does not pertain to rezoning applications.