Collingwood’s building department has moved fully into the 21st century, with their permitting and inspection processes now available completely online.
During Monday night’s development and operations standing committee meeting, Collingwood’s chief building officer, Greg Miller, gave an update to members on this year’s building activities.
Specifically, Miller spoke about the department’s transition to a 100 per cent e-permitting system starting in January 2021 that has seen the department move away from the paper systems of the past.
“When someone comes in with their zoning certificate issued by planning services... I'm envisioning that we can issue same-day permits,” said Miller. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t do it with certified models.”
The e-permitting system 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.
“The reduction in fuel, the reduction in carbon and the reduction in pollution... people can submit their building permits 24/7,” said Miller.
He noted the department will also do electronic inspections. Miller said the town's building staff of six do about 4,500 building inspections per year on average.
“It certainly adds up to savings,” he said.
As part of a three-year average summary, Miller said about 790 building permits are issued in Collingwood per year, accounting for about $160 million in construction value. Permits for 376 dwellings are issued per year.
In 2020, permit revenue came in at about $765,000. So far in 2021, building permit revenue has come in at about $911,000.
“This is one of our highest over the past five years, and we still have the month of December to go,” said Miller.
Miller also said $135 million in construction value was completed in Collingwood in 2020, with numbers on track to exceed that this year, with $135 million completed in 2021 so far.
“We are a recognized leader in our industry,” said Miller. “It’s been a great year, given the circumstances.”
Coun. Yvonne Hamlin spoke about the new e-permitting system.
“This is a game-changer for the industry and your department,” said Hamlin.
She asked about the possibility of having one inspector assigned to specific accessory apartment projects, as many homeowners aren’t as well-versed in the rules, and may not have as much capital to put into those projects.
“I have given some thought to this. In a perfect world, I’d like to have one inspector assigned to a project. It’s a challenge for me to do that, when we have two and a half inspectors and we’re doing 4,500 inspections per year,” said Miller. “As a general principle, that is how we operate but we don’t have a policy in place.”
