On December 19th, 2023, Council approved changes exempting apartment buildings up to six stories and commercial/office buildings up to three stories from requiring Advisory Design Panel (ADP) review, provided they are supported by staff. The changes are estimated to reduce the number of projects at the ADP by 60-70% and save several months on development application timelines.

The approved changes will:

• Exempt low-rise (up to six storey) apartment buildings and low-rise (up to three storey) commercial retail and office buildings from ADP review, provided they are supported through urban design staff review;
• Allow an option for high-rise (more than six storey) residential and mixed-use developments and larger (more than three storeys) commercial and select major projects to be scheduled for ADP review either prior to introduction to Council, or following third reading and/or Council’s “approval to draft” a Development Permit but before final approval at the applicant’s discretion, provided they are supported through urban design staff review; and
• Refer projects to an ADP review prior to introduction to Council if the design is not supported through urban design staff review. In such cases, the ADP will function as a “second opinion” and will form part of staff’s recommendations to Council.

Council also approved a motion directing staff to report back regarding whether building permits for new homes could be submitted for review after the preliminary layout approval process and prior to final subdivision in order to reduce time for building permit issuance.

Furthermore, Council also approved improvements to Engineering development processes, including earlier involvement with Engineering staff to provide greater clarity on servicing requirements, accelerating review timelines, integrate the Erosion and Sediment Control processes, and expand the use of surety bonds as an alternate form of security for Servicing Agreements to reduce carrying costs to the developer.

More information can be found in the Improvements to the Engineering Development Process, Erosion and Sediment Control Process Improvements, and Proposed changes to ADP Procedures reports by City staff.