Strathmore on right track, survey says

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Strathmore received a pat on the back after a study conducted by the Fraser Institute ranked the municipality among those with lowest barriers, short timelines for permit approval, and least amount of opposition for builders, when housing affordability is a growing concern in Canada.
The study, New Homes and Red Tape, approached the building community directly at the end of last year, and surveyed over 30 builders in 11 jurisdictions about the barriers and opposition they faced to building that would place a strain on the shortage of new housing stock.
Among the municipalities surveyed within the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, which also included Rocky View County, Red Deer, Chestermere, Cochrane, Okotoks and Airdrie, Strathmore ranked well.
“We measured and assessed the impact the government rules and regulation has on people’s lives on the local, provincial, national and even international level in light of all the concern that’s been expressed about housing affordability across Canada,” said Dr. Ken Green, who, together with Ian Herzog and Josef Filipowicz, conducted the study and has a doctoral degree in environmental science and engineering.
“When you add up all the different variables in terms of cost and certainty timelines, Strathmore is actually the easiest place to get something built in the cities that we ranked. If you want more affordable housing, Strathmore is doing the right things.”
Within the study, respondents were directed to focus on typical regulatory compliance costs and fees, the role of politicians and community groups in residential development, the effects of zoning bylaws and official plans, and the typical length and uncertainty of approval timelines.
In regards to the findings, Dr. Green’s opinion states that part of the reason building in Strathmore fares easier than in other jurisdictions is due to its size and age.
“An older urban built-up environment as opposed to new areas on the outskirts, over time, you amass more layers of infrastructure that are monitored by different agencies and entities, multiple service providers for different kinds of services, and therefore the more desks you have to put your paperwork across to get something done,” Dr. Green said.
“When you’re a younger, newer jurisdiction, and you’re doing new builds on green areas that haven’t been build up before, there’s less regulatory burden involved. So yes, younger and newer and farther out from the urban core [areas] would all tend to suggest you have less red tape, less need for approvals from multiple agencies and entities, and lower cost of getting permitted.”
According to the study, one of the critical aspects involved a six-months project approval in Strathmore, as compared to areas such as Calgary or Rocky View County that both have builders and developers waiting for over a year. However, where permits are concerned, the Town of Strathmore argues the timeframe is actually much shorter, usually a couple weeks, and that the reason for the efficiency is a result of time-saving processes that have been implemented over the last few years.
“We have some very defined processes that we have worked on over the years to streamline our processes and we provide people with checklists with all sorts of things to assist them in making sure that we have all the information that we need to be able to approve their permits,” said Deputy Chief Administrative Office Linda Nelson.
“We ensure that they’re getting the information on what we need to have back in order to move forward. We have fantastic planning and development staff, and they work pretty hard to make sure our builders and developers are getting the service as quickly as we can.”
The survey was also conducted for the Vancouver lower mainland, and will continue to explore the situation in Toronto. Dr. Green added that by continuing the survey in the future, some conclusions may be drawn on whether things are improving or declining.