District of Lake Country staff have targeted February 2025 to clear a backlog of development permit applications that has built up over the past several years.
At its Oct. 15 meeting, council heard that the district has received 505 applications since 2019 with 89 still to be completed. There are 188 units within the 89 applications that will eventually be presented to council.
鈥淲e are going to be caught up on the backlog for those that are going to be moving forward,鈥� said Paul Gipps, District CAO.
Councillor Michael Lewis Lewis raised concerns over the length of time for development applications to be looked at by staff.
鈥淎bout a year ago when we looked at this we were told鈥ou were one year to 18 months before you even got assigned,鈥� he added.
In 2022, and staff looking for direction from council. A staff report stated the pandemic and ongoing staff changes reduced the capacity to process applications.
Gipps said, going forward after February 2025, the timeline to process applications will depend on their complexity.
鈥淎 house should be fairly straightforward鈥 month to six weeks to a multi-family being two to three to four months.鈥�
Earlier this year, changes to the Official Community Plan helped with processing times for applications with approximately 50 applications completed.
The district鈥檚 Housing Needs Assessment calls for 2,505 dwelling units by 2031 (358 per year) including approximately 835 units targeted as affordable housing with rent of $1,250 per month.
鈥淲e鈥檙e currently behind about 500 units on that, so we should be looking at more like 430 units a year,鈥� Jeremy Frick, director of planning and development, explained to council.
Building permits issued in 2024 include two apartment developments, three duplexes, several secondary suites and single-family homes totalling 254 units.
