Last year was one of Collingwood’s most successful building years ever, according to the town’s chief building officer.
During Monday night’s development and operations standing committee meeting, Collingwood’s chief building officer, Greg Miller, gave an update to members on 2021’s building activities.
In 2021, 780 building permits were issued by the Town of Collingwood, which amounts to an 11 per cent increase over 2020 numbers.
The construction value for those permits is estimated at $168.5 million, an increase of 24 per cent over 2020 – the second highest on-record ever in Collingwood’s history.
“If someone would have asked me in April 2021, I would never have guessed we would have issued as many permits and have such a strong year as we did,” said Miller.
The town’s interim control bylaw (ICBL), approved by council on April 26, 2021, put a pause on new development building permits because of limited available capacity at the town's water treatment plant, unless a development was granted an exemption.
Mayor Brian Saunderson referred to the April 26, 2021 meeting on Monday night.
“We had lots of doom and gloom forecast from about 27 deputants that day, and these numbers you’ve given us today are quite impressive and go a long way to debunk (that),” said Saunderson. “While some of the concerns were legitimate, they have proven to be ill-founded.”
As part of Monday’s report, Miller said that in 2021, 4,536 building inspections were completed and 109 occupancy permits were issued.
The building department rolled out its new e-permitting system, which allows all applications to be submitted through a public portal. Developers and residents can then track the status of their permits online, and permits are reviewed and issued through the same system. Payment for permits can also be accepted through the system.
SEE MORE: Town’s new e-permitting system a ‘game-changer,’ says councillor
“I’m envisioning that we can issue same-day building permits for decks, or assessed re-building and minor residential projects,” said Miller. “We’re quite excited about this.”
Coun. Deb Doherty asked how the building department deals with infill projects and accessory structures that may deviate from the conditions of a building permit once one has been granted.
“We certainly understand the sensitivity with infill development,” said Miller. “There is a process we have where they submit revised drawings as we have to make sure it conforms with the zoning bylaw as well. With infill... the applicant or owner has a right to finish that particular space as long as it conforms with applicable law.”
“It’s a bit of a balancing act,” he said.
