Vancouver building permit wait times could kill my business, says owner

A small business owner in Vancouver says a backlog of building permits at the city could force them to close.

"We could potentially lose our business," said Darnelle Moore, the owner of Eastside Fitness on Fraser Street near 43rd Avenue.

Over the past three years, Eastside Fitness has grown to the point where it needs more space. Moore says she and her business partners signed a lease for a spot down the block.

She said they planned to do some minor renovations in December before they move in, and thought they would have plenty of time to get a building permit.

But Moore said her business doesn't even have an appointment with the city until the middle of December, and the approval process could take until June.

Moore said the city told her she could pay for eight hours of overtime for city staff, at $245 an hour, to speed up the process.

"We can't afford not to pay the $2,000 because otherwise we'll be paying a lot in double leases in space we can't use," said Moore. 

Building boom

So far this year, the city has processed 4,357 building permits representing $2 billion worth of construction. The city says staff simply can't keep up.

"It's like a perfect storm where the economy is very buoyant and the applications keep coming in," said George Fujii, the city's director of planning and development services. 

In Moore's case, the city says the architect for Eastside Fitness should have applied for a permit sooner.

"That could have been done on the part of the consultant several weeks ago, when they first got the contract to do the job," said Fujii. 

Fujii said the city's goal is to process permits within 20 weeks — but industry insiders claim it takes up to six to eight months.

Fujii admitted wait times could be improved; the city is creating a Small Business Renovation Centre, which should be ready by next spring.