Mayor Siscoe Releases Mayoral Direction to remove barriers for Planning Applications

May 7^th, 2024 – Today Mayor Mat Siscoe directed the Chief Administrative Officer and City staff to adopt a housing-focused approach to the administration of the corporation. This direction includes implementing enhanced customer service protocols and expediting planning and development applications, while also acknowledging regulatory compliance as the core function for the City.

In addition, all City departments have been instructed to prioritize development applications, specifically requests for comments on those applications, in keeping with the goals of City Council’s unanimously approved housing strategy passed in early 2023. Departments have also been asked to identify and address any barriers or challenges that would delay a timely response as soon as possible.

Furthermore, as part of this direction, City departments must adopt a solutions-first lens towards development applications, providing alternatives in all situations where roadblocks are encountered from a technical perspective. The goal is to speed up the application process and get residential and mixed-use development projects in front of Council quickly, working in collaboration with the development community while meeting all applicable policies and legislation.

“Advancing Housing Accelerator Fund initiatives is a top strategic priority for the corporation, and implementing an expedited approach to our planning process is the first step in creating more successful outcomes for housing development in our City. This includes using federal funds to resolve a long-standing lack of development engineering services, expand our project expeditor program, and remove barriers to timely and thorough review of development applications,” said Mayor Siscoe.

“This, combined with a renewed focus on customer service – picking up the phone and working with our development community to get issues dealt with quickly and amicably - is going to get more housing built in our community, in line with our Federal and Provincial partners goals.”

Customer service training, protocols, and directives are being implemented for staff teams interacting with the development community to ensure expeditious return of inquiries. By prioritizing customer service excellence, establishing clear reporting to Council, and fostering regular, open conversations with the development community, the City is working to address challenges in the development process to keep projects moving. The City's focus on continuous improvement highlights its dedication to promoting sustainable growth and development efficiently and promptly.

For a full version of the Mayor’s Declaration, please visit this link.