I have the privilege of serving on the Development Committee for the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association.  This is a committee that advocates on issues that impact the housing market .  In 2014, one of our key accomplishments was the establishment of an annual survey of municipal governments and the development community called “Getting to Groundbreaking”.   The survey looks at various aspects of development planning and approvals from both a government and developer’s perspective.  While it is interesting to see how developer’s  and the municipal government’s perception of the same process differs, the more interesting outcome of the survey is the identification of some best practices that are turning up in some municipalities.  These include:  Pre-application meetings, Concurrent processing of applications and Municipal Staff empowerment .  Here’s hoping that these types of practices will be adopted by others now that they are coming to light!  As this is an annual survey, we expect more creative ideas will emerge to improve efficiencies and results.   Here is a link to the 2014 survey summary report and key findings:

Links:  Report   and   Key Findings

Through the GVHBA Development Committee, I serve on a subcommittee responsible for developing and delivering a teaching seminar called “Development 101”.  This is a seminar designed for Municipal government staff and politicians to help them understand property development from a business perspective.

In the seminar we build a project proforma or budget based on a hypothetical  project.  We then demonstrate how changes to various government policies can impact a project’s bottom line and viability.   It is an extremely useful  tool  to assist municipalities in understanding how various policies or processes can have a real impact on affordability and development viability in their jurisdiction .  The subsequent question and answer period results in discussion which helps us, in turn, understand the Municipal point of view.

The intention is that this increased understanding  of each other will allow for a more collaborative approach to development planning.  Over the years I have experienced both good and bad.  Being treated as a ‘big bad developer’ in an ‘us vs them’ environment results in a situation where it feels like we have to develop good projects in spite of the municipal requirements.  Much preferable, and becoming more common,  is a collaborative environment where input is supplied by the municipality, public stakeholders and the developer.  The results of this approach are truly superior.  A great example is the Bedford Landing Community in the Township of Langley where I had the pleasure of being part of a truly collaborative process.

To allow this collaborative environment to occur requires trust and that all parties be trustworthy.

Public consultation is seen in different lights by the different participants.  For the public, it is often mistrusted as a “token” consultation that “nobody actually listens to”.   For the Municipality it is a requirement to ensure that the public interest is considered in project planning.  For the developer it is often seen as an obligation to get through the process.

Having been part of many such meetings both as a participant or leading the discussion, I have noticed the following things:

Different municipalities approach consultation in different ways.  The Township of Langley wisely suggests that you hold public information meetings prior to submitting the original project application.  Other municipalities actually require you to wait until you are farther along in the process before you hold a meeting.  Bizarre.

For the developer, early consultation can be an extremely useful tool to gain an understanding of what is important to the neighborhood and what are their concerns.  Usually many of these can be factored into the design or planning to reduce conflict as you go through the approval process.

The beauty of the public information meeting is that it is hosted by the developer so it is an opportunity to have informal discussions with the neighborhood to really understand their issues and what are the biggest hurdles will be to project approval.  This is great information – especially if you are genuinely looking to hear the issues and meet the community needs.

Avoiding consultation is like hiding your head in the sand – not a good strategy!