One-Stop Development Shop

Transcription

1 Growth & Community Development Stakeholder Update November, 2015 One-Stop Development Shop Project Update Draft Suite of Development By-Laws PO Box 1971, Saint John NB - Canada - E2L 4L1 One-Stop@saintjohn.ca - Tel: (506) Draft Suite of Programs

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3 One-Stop Development Shop Since the February 16, 2015 Council adoption of the One-Stop Development Shop Final Service Delivery Model recommended options, staff have been focused on implementing various project initiatives, moving forward with 61 service enhancements that align with the One-Stop guiding principles: - Innovation and Continuous Improvement; - Predictability and Clarity; - Facilitated and Streamlined; and - Customer and Community Focused. Enclosed you ll find a project status timeline as well as updates relating to key service enhancements being implemented. Project Update Draft Suite of Development By-Laws PO Box 1971, Saint John NB - Canada - E2L 4L1 One-Stop@saintjohn.ca - Tel: (506)

4 One-Stop Development Shop Upcoming Improvements Continuous Improvement Improved data and an ongoing focus on improving staff knowledge across the service areas will support a continuously improving service. This will be guided by a dedicated process improvement team that will endure after substantial completion. Substantial Completion June 2016 Fully Updated Webpage More resources, made more easily accessible to meet the needs of our customers and the community. A Transparent Review Process An open and transparent development process through the posting of active permits and mapping of real time active development projects. Customer Support Materials Clear guidance materials with a predictable review process will assist customers in the preparation and submission of development applications. Improved Compliance Program Creating a level playing field and ensuring minimum community standards are met through a system of permit deposits and the doubling of permit fees for work started without a permit. Council Adoption Each of the By-Laws will go before Council for discussion and consideration before proceeding with adoption. By-Law Adoption February 2016 Parallel Permit Review A newly created digital work-flow system will enable parallel reviews along with tracking of turnaround times against departmental performance indicators. Tiered Permit System Additional decision making authority being granted to staff will allow for quicker review processes. Streamlining will be supported by bringing in the right staff at the right time. Expedited Review January 2016 Application Tracking Applicants will be able to monitor the status of their building permits and planning applications in real time using our website. Stakeholder Feedback A series of stakeholder engagement sessions are scheduled to receive input on the draft By-Laws. Click2Gov Software A new program has been procured and is currently being implemented to enhance online interaction with development service customers. New Online Services Upcoming Improvements January 2016 Subdivision Drainage Building A Suite of Modern By-Laws The new By-Laws will improve predictability and clarity, while implementing the community standards set out in PlanSJ. They will also contain improved enforcement mechanisms and drainage provisions. Draft By-Laws November 2015

5 One-Stop Development Shop Implementation Status Project Launch November 2014 February 2015 Draft Model Final Model Implementation Improved Webpage Council Direction The One-Stop Development Shop project was initiated as a result of Council s priorities and the core service review. Stakeholder Engagement One-on-One Interviews were held with both the development community & City staff to guide the One-Stop project. Council Endorsement The draft Service Delivery Model was endorsed by council to be used as a guide for engaging stakeholders. Service Enhancements Sixty-one service enhancements were designed to achieve the vision of the One-Stop Development Shop. Council Adoption Council adopted the One-Stop Development Final Service Delivery Model and directed staff to proceed with implementation. Phase One Webpage Improvements All applications, a schedule of fees and some instructional materials have been updated and are available online. Stakeholder Feedback Key stakeholders were engaged for feedback on the Draft Service Delivery Model. Renovations Complete Renovations allowed for the merging of four service areas and three front counters into one public facing One-Stop counter. Spring 2015 Spring 2015 Smart Mobility Summer 2015 October 2015 Inspection Scheduling By By Fall of Paperless Office Single Front Counter Inspection Scheduling Pilot Program A pilot program of improved inspection scheduling for one and two unit buildings was rolled out for the 2015 construction season. This allowed for more efficient scheduling of inspections by having builders call in and schedule inspections at specific points during construction. Tablet Adoption In field access to electronic mapping, property records and automated report writing functions have eliminated the duplication of data entry and increased efficiency. Digitization A shift has been made towards a digital records system which improves access to information and will support further digital service enhancements in the future. Front Counter Team A cross functional team now comprised of technical and administrative staff from the four service areas is in place at the front counter. Infrastructure Development staff located on Rothesay Avenue have been relocated to City Hall.

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7 One-Stop Development Shop Draft By-Laws An Integrated Suite of By-Laws Central to the One-Stop shop is a suite of modernized integrated development By-laws that support the One-Stop guiding principles. The goal of the modernized development By-laws is to improve clarity and predictability for development, while ensuring community standards set out in PlanSJ are met. Subdivision The new Subdivision By-law will replace the current one adopted in 1979, 36 years ago, and better promotes our community goals for sustainable growth here in Saint John. Together with the recently adopted Zoning By-law, this new Subdivision By-law will implement the land use policies of our award-winning Municipal Plan. Drainage The adoption of a Drainage By-law supports the polices identified in the Municipal Plan with the purpose being to require that drainage systems are constructed in accordance with the Storm Drainage Design Criteria Manual. The draft Drainage By-law will work in conjunction with the Building and Subdivision By-laws to address the regulation of drainage when developing in the City of Saint John. This new By-law is intended to: Integrated Safeguard the functionality of existing storm drainage systems; Clearly communicate storm drainage regulations of the City; and Promote proper drainage for new developments. Building The updated Building By-law incorporates the features of the Final Model of One-Stop, particularly the enhanced compliance and enforcement tools to promote community standards. It also enables expedited permit approvals and provides clarity and predictability for applicants. The suite of draft By-laws is designed to integrate as a cohesive set of development regulations. All three By-laws complement each other and eliminate circumstances in which development regulations are contradictory. This will ensure a seamless process for development projects. Objectives of the By-laws Clear & Predictable The development review process will be clearer and more predictable through the proposed standards and processes of the draft By-laws. This will help customers come in more prepared and to navigate the development review process more efficiently. Community Focused The suite of By-laws is reflective of the community standards set out in PlanSJ and will ensure that development will occur in a form that is in the long-term best interests of the whole community. Collaborative A more collaborative process will be adopted with the draft By-laws. More interaction with City staff at earlier stages in a project will help support customers, while bringing together a collaborative cross service team that will encourage quality design and support an efficient review process. Expedited A new approach to development approvals will be implemented with the adoption of the draft By-laws. This will increase efficiency, clearly communicate expectations and reduce review times for some smaller projects. Customer Focused A customer focused culture of collaboration and support is a major focus of the draft By-laws. Efforts have been made to reduce red tape and to address stakeholder feedback received regarding potential impacts on development costs.

8 One-Stop Draft By-Laws New Features for the Community Subdivision Design Focused Advocates a performance-based approach instead of traditional prescriptive requirements. Introduces Innovative, efficient subdivision designs that address unique site conditions instead of inefficient, standard cookie-cutter designs. Promotes the use of external industry standards to support this new design approach, which will provide for continuous improvement by subject experts an emerging best practice across Canada. Drainage As Built Drawings All storm drainage projects designed by a professional engineer will require as built drawings to be signed off by a professional engineer. This will ensure information is available to support future development and provide staff with accurate information for operational and asset management. Drainage Plans Storm drainage plans are already an industry practice. Clearer, better defined processes and submission requirements will be implemented with the Drainage By-law that will provide clarity for designing and receiving plans.there are four streams of drainage plan requirements. Building Streetscapes Demolition sites in the City s Intensification areas will be required to have topsoil and grass-seed applied after the demolition is complete. Feedback Industry stakeholders shared that vacant lots are unattractive and a deterrent to re-investment on adjacent properties. Drainage Requirements Sustainable The focus on design and collaboration will promote sustainable subdivisions a key objective of PlanSJ. Traffic studies will be required for larger subdivisions that lack a secondary street access. Rural subdivisions will require studies with respect to the long-term provision of private on-site servicing (well and septic systems). Private streets will be limited to serviced townhouse projects developed under the Condominium Act with engineered street standards. New Development (Existing Plan On File) Lot grading plan (P.Eng.). Rough grading plan submitted by builder. Lot grading verified by a P.Eng. or Land Surveyor. Final grading plan submitted within 12 months. New Development or Significant Change (No Plan On File) Engineered storm drainage submission and grading plan required. Rough grading plan submitted by builder. Lot grading plan to be verified by a P.Eng. or Land Surveyor. Final grading plan submitted within 12 months. One & Two Unit Dwelling; or a Semi-Detached Unit Lot grading sketch by builder or owner. Modifications to Existing Developed Lots P.Eng. certification that there will be no adverse affect in surface drainage runoff as a result of final development. Feedback Industry stakeholders er shared that the cost of hiring a registered surveyor could be cost prohibitive. An alternative option created would permit a letter from a P.Eng. confirming the elevations, reducing industry costs. Compliance If work for which a permit is required is started prior to the permit being issued, the permit fee will be doubled up to a maximum additional fee of $25,000 to cover costs associated with investigation, compliance and enforcement. Feedback Industry stakeholders ers shared that any new deposit system should be dependant on the scale of the project and the value of the work. Fiscally Responsible Advocates fiscal sustainability by requiring developers to become fully responsible for subdivision costs an approach that aligns with industry best practices. For example, street lighting will now be a required component provided by developers. Implementing PlaySJ s direction to right-size the City s parks, only strategic new parkland acquisitions that support municipal needs will be pursued. Fees that better reflect the costs of providing the service. For example, the application fee for subdivisions involving 20 lots will change from $1,250 to $2,500, but in comparison, developers in Moncton would pay $5,250 for the same subdivision. Lot Grading Plans A lot grading plan specifies critical design elevations, surface grades, swale locations, and other drainage information. The plan provides the basis for drainage control. Rough Grading Plans Backfilling the foundation walls and shaping the lot to conform with the approved lot grading plan and key elevations are to be provided. Final Grading Plans This plan is the final design elevation. This can be submitted by a property owner within 12 months of rough grading approval. Deposits A system of deposits will help to ensure that Code and By-law requirements are met for every project and will allow the City to recover costs when additional services are provided. Minor Permits (Value Above $2,500) Flat fee deposit of $200 Medium Permits 1% of total value up to a maximum of $2,000, minimum $300 Major Permits 1% of total value up to a maximum of $5,000, minimum $500 Deposits will be returned upon : (1) the Final Occupancy Permit being issued or (2) the Successful Completion of the Final Inspection document being issued The following additional service fees will be deducted from the Deposit: Any outstanding permit fees Additional inspections Additional plans review

9 Collaborative One-Stop Draft By-Laws New Features for the Customer Subdivision Collaborative Advocates an enhanced collaboration program to support a more sophisticated design approach. Provides for pre-application meetings between City staff and developers to provide consultation of preliminary subdivision plans. Provides for pre-construction ruction meetings between City staff and developers ers to discuss subdivision phasing and construction. tion. Drainage A more collaborative approach is proposed in the draft By-law. Pre-application and pre-construction n meetings will improve coordination with both the developer and other City departments. Clear & Predictable Expedited A clear and predictable process is proposed in the draft Drainage By-law. This will be achieved through clearly defined submission requirements, procedures and approval processes. Feedback The development industry stakeholders expressed that a more collaborative process was desirable. This included improving collaboration with multiple City departments and external agencies. A tiered subdivision approval system will provide a more efficient review process. Some small approvals, such as simple lot boundary adjustments, will be able to be approved at the front counter. Feedback Stakeholders indicated that they would like to see simple planning applications approved right at the front counter. Support The City s commitment to continue to invest in the mapping and modeling of wastewater infrastructure will reduce the level of effort required by developers to provide and pay for engineering studies. Having a completely mapped and modeled system will help to reduce developer costs by providing more information on the City s infrastructure. A City-wide wastewater model is estimated to be completed by Building Feedback Stakeholders expressed that they would like to see the number of small projects that require permits reduced. This addressed by removing the requirement for a permit for small projects that pose no challenges to life safety or key community standards. Clear & Simple There are fewer types of projects when a property owner needs to engage the services of Qualified Professionals (for Part 3 buildings, when the value of the work is less than $25,000). Formalized phased permits will allow applicants to get their projects started while other phases are still in the approval stage. Permit Holders can extend their permit for an additional year, if the permit conditions are being met. Expedited The types of projects for which a permit is not required has been expanded, meaning there are more instances when a property owner can do routine maintenance without having to obtain a building permit. Expedited permit approvals will be enabled with the By-law, meaning minor permits will be issued quicker. Inspections & Communication Scheduled mandatory Inspections will be required for all permit types with phone-in requests. The ability to schedule with online requests will be coming later in Occupancy permits will be required for new dwellings, including single unit dwellings so applicants know when their project is complete and meets required codes and by-laws. For work to an existing building, property owners will be issued a Successful Completion of Final Inspection document so they know they ve passed all the mandatory inspections. Feedback Stakeholders expressed that they would like to have more permit approvals occurring at the front counter or by the next day. The draft By-laws propose increasing the decision making authority of front counter staff to have permits issues quicker.

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11 Draft Suite of Programs One June 22, 2015 Council endorsed a recommendation for staff to research and develop an incentive program as a pilot program for the South End, Uptown and Waterloo Village neighbourhoods of the City, referred to collectively in the study as the Central Peninsula. The goal of the program is to promote residential density in the Central Peninsula through reinvestment in vacant lands, vacant upper floors and vacant buildings. The proposed incentive program strategically targets the Central Peninsula as it provides the highest return on investment for the City, and is the cultural and financial heart of the region. A successful incentive program will be able to leverage public investments in the core area and help promote the Central Peninsula as a desired option to live, work and play. Enclosed for your review are the program details around the draft Urban Development Incentives.

12 Urban Development Incentives Background Principles Further Promote Built Heritage Increase Core Neighbourhood Density Revitalize Waterfront Lands Support Green Building Design Promote Broader Housing Opportunities Support Mixed-Use Neighbourhoods Focus Vacant Lots Vacant Buildings Vacant Upper Floors Current Subject Area Condition Central Peninsula Uptown South End Waterloo Village of the Central Peninsula Vacant Lots 287 Vacant Lots Average Value $41,240 Vacant Buildings Proposed Suite of Programs Urban Development Low Assessed Buildings 40 Vacant Buildings Life Safety and Fire Risk Deterrent to Re-Investment 71 Assessed Below $70,000 Deterrent to Re-Investment Infill Development Program Upper Floor Redevelopment Program Residential Rehabilitation Program Beautification Soft Incentives Residential Beautification Program Uptown Saint John Facade Grant Program Heritage Grant Program Mapping & Information Process Facilitation Standards & Service Enhancements

13 Urban Development Draft Program Details Description Urban Development incentives are intended to encourage new development or redevelopment by providing support to projects that meet key planning outcomes. The program is focused on addressing vacancy in all of its forms: Vacant Lots, Vacant Buildings and Vacant Upper Floors. It is comprised of a tiered grant system, of which the cornerstone is the Residential Density Rebate. Community Outcomes Increased Residential Density Quality Urban Design Preservation of Heritage Assets Renewed Investment in the Central Peninsula Infill Development Eligible Projects Located Within Central Peninsula New Residential Construction Lot is Vacant for 1 Year Creates a Minimum of 2 Units Applicable Challenges Soil Contamination Rock Breaking Combined Sewers Upper Floors Redevelopment Eligible Projects Within Commercial Uptown Zone Targets Vacant Upper Storey Heritage Must be Vacant for 1 Year Creates a Minimum of 1 Unit Applicable Challenges Sprinkler Upgrades Secondary Egress Issues Elevator Installation Cutting Windows Fire Separation Compliance Asbestos Removal Lead Paint Removal Residential Rehabilitation Eligible Projects Located Within Central Peninsula Must be a Vacant Building Must be Vacant for 1 Year Creates a Minimum of 1 Unit Applicable Challenges Sprinkler Upgrades Secondary Egress Issues Elevator Installation Fire Separation Compliance Structural or Foundation Issues Asbestos Removal Lead Paint Removal Upgrading of Knob & Tube Electrical Propsed Funding Programs Residential Density Rebate Construction Challenges Grant Building Permit Rebate Proposed Funding Programs Residential Density Rebate Construction Challenges Grant Building Permit Rebate Proposed Funding Programs Residential Density Rebate Construction Challenges Grant Building Permit Rebate Sample Sample Sample 5.25% of Construction Costs Over Five Years. Annual Payment Schedule: 1.5% 1.5% 1.125% 0.75% 0.375% Not-For-Profit Housing Projects are eligible for 2.5% of Construction Costs Over Five Years. 20% of Applicable challenges to a maximum of $50,000 or 5% of total project costs. 80% of Permit Fees to a Maximum of $10,000. Applies only to Not-For-Profit housing projects. 5.25% of Construction Costs Over Five Years. Annual Payment Schedule: 1.5% 1.5% 1.125% 0.75% 0.375% Not-For-Profit Projects are eligible for 2.5% of Construction Costs Over Five Years. 20% of Applicable challenges to a maximum of $50,000 or 5% of total project costs. 50% of Feasibility Study Costs, up to $10, % of Permit Fees to a Maximum of $10,000. Applies only to Not-For-Profit housing projects. 5.25% of Construction Costs Over Five Years. Annual Payment Schedule: 1.5% 1.5% 1.125% 0.75% 0.375% Not-For-Profit Housing Projects are eligible for 2.5% of Construction Costs Over Five Years. 20% of Applicable challenges to a maximum of $50,000 or 5% of total project costs. 50% of Feasibility Study Costs, up to $10, % of Permit Fees to a Maximum of $10,000.

14 Beautification Program Draft Program Details Residential Beautification The Residential Beautification Grant program is designed to incent reinvestment in existing residential dwellings within the Central Peninsula, but outside the heritage preservation area. The enhanced visual appeal of the street will help build market confidence in the neighbourhood, and incent investment in new development, or inspire further reinvestment in existing dwellings. Program Overview Provides 25% of eligible costs up to $5,000 Must be within the Central Peninsula Outside Heritage Areas For Residential Properties Eligible Work Exterior Painting Siding Repair or Replacement Architectural Detail Repair or Replacement Exterior Front Steps, Handrails & Walkways Landscaping: sod, shrubs, trees & plant beds Heritage Grant Program The Heritage Grant Program is an incentive currently offered by the City of Saint John. It provides grant funding to support the maintenance and conservation of designated heritage buildings. In 2015, increased funds were provided to this program resulting in an additional seven conservation projects. Subject to budget approval, it is recommended that the additional funding be continued. UptownSJ Facade Program The Façade Grant Program is an incentive offered by Uptown Saint John, intended to provide funding for businesses that are reinvesting in the facades of their buildings. Offering additional support to the Façade Program represents a further mechanism to help broaden the potential impact of the incentive program. Soft Incentives Soft incentives are a form of non-monetary support provided to assist developers. Several options for new soft incentives are being explored as part of the incentives program to fully leverage investments in the suite of incentive programs. A more detailed list of soft incentive options will be developed in the coming months. Mapping & Information Online Development Opportunities Map Sharing of Capital Project Information One Stop Open Data Pilot Project Process Facilitation Exploration of Strategic Land Assembly Coordination with One-Stop Improvements Standards & Service Enhancements Grassing of Vacant Lots (Building By-Law) Next Steps Council Budget Deliberations Program Refinement Develop Administrative Procedures Council Adoption Program Effective Date Jan Full Program Launch early 2016

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16 One-Stop Development Shop City of Saint John Growth and Community Development Ser vices website: ll/developmentgrowth/default.aspx City of Saint John 15 Market Square PO Box 1971 Saint John, New Brunswick E2L 4L1 PO Box 1971, Saint John NB - Canada - E2L 4L1 One-Stop@saintjohn.ca - Tel: (506)