The City of Burnaby has been awarded the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association’s Most Improved Approval Timing award in recognition of the significant strides the city made in 2023 to efficiently process development and building permit applications.

“This award is the latest milestone in our efforts to make it easier to build the projects we need in Burnaby”, said Mayor Mike Hurley. “Across the city, major projects are underway, including new housing developments, new buildings at SFU and BCIT, upgrades at Burnaby Hospital and the development of new film studios and other employment spaces. Equally as important, the improvements we’ve made will save time and money for residents working on their home or business.”

This is the second consecutive year Burnaby has received NAIOP honours, after being recognized as Metro Vancouver’s Most Business-Friendly municipality last year. Since then, Burnaby’s ongoing Development Approval Process (DAP) project has continued to improve processing times for development and building permits and create a faster, simpler and better experience for applicants.

Highlights of Burnaby’s 2023 improvements include:

• a new process for residential single and two-family dwelling building permits that has reduced wait times by up to 85 per cent.
• the launch of a new online application services platform, the launch of the City’s new Certified Professional (CP) program, enabling qualified private-sector professionals hired by the developer to supplement City staff’s reviews of design documents.
• 29 “quick wins” to streamline the approval process for multi-family developments and other complex projects.

While Burnaby’s progress has been steady, the DAP project is only getting started. Priority projects for 2024 include further technical enhancements to speed up permitting processes, additional streamlining of the application processes for both residential and commercial buildings, and the start of Burnaby’s transition to a new development permit system for major projects, which strives to reduce processing times by over 60 per cent.