Planning department jammed
Taking forever to get anything done: Mayor
Planners in the fast-growing municipality of Lake Country are overwhelmed by the number of development applications, Mayor James Baker says.
Staffing in the department has remained level for five years despite the town’s 22% increase in population between 2016 and 2021. The scale and complexity of development applications has also expanded in recent years.
“Our planning department is so jammed up with applications that it’s taking forever to get anything done,” Mayor James Baker said in an interview.
A backlog of files has been growing since at least 2016 and recent challenges such as the ongoing pandemic, which has affected the staff working environment, has only compounded the problem. There have also been some difficulties in recruitment, with positions being vacant for some time.
When new staff are hired, “time is required for them to learn their new roles, which temporarily translates into slower processing times,” states part of a report considered this week by council.
For the last three years, the number of accepted files has outpaced the number of files that are resolved by an average of 30 applications annually. By 2021, there was a cumulative backlog of 119 development applications.
Zoning amendments are taking 18 months to process, with even relatively straightforward development permits that don’t require town council’s involvement requiring six months’ processing time.
“The current backlog of applications is having an impact on construction timelines in the district for projects ranging from swimming pools to largescale multi-family developments, commercial and industrial developments,” the report to council states.
Measures taken so far include hiring a consultant on a part-time basis to help with certain applications, hiring temporary planners, and creating a yet-to-be-filled new position, manager of development. Council will receive additional reports on the matter in the future.