Despite an overall decrease in the number of building permits issued in Bradford, the number of residential permits is on the rise — especially for new homes — but it’s still unlikely to be enough for the town to hit their housing targets.
William Wong, the town’s chief building official, submitted a report on building permit activity for the second quarter of 2024 as part of the regular council meeting on Aug. 6. In the report, Wong shows the town issued 159 building permits in the quarter, a decrease of about a four per cent from the 166 issued during the same time in 2023.
Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano pushed for more to be done to expedite the process.
“Time is money and so however good you guys are doing, we need better, we need faster,” he said. “These permits, we need to crank them out.”
In response, Wong explained that since becoming Chief Building Official (CBO) he’s facilitated issuing both partial and conditional permits to improve turnaround time, and also worked towards alternative solutions to help developers meet the building code requirements in tricky situations.
“Trying to enforce the building code requirements is not a popular job, but I always tell my staff, try to find some alternative solutions, try to help,” he said.
In the second quarter, the department issued a conditional permit for LOFT Community Services affordable senior residence at 31 Fredrick St., and an alternative solution for The Elden retirement residence at 3131 Line 8, according to the report.
Mayor James Leduc said Wong has done a “great job” and he looks forward to the option for online permit filing in future.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper and Ward 7 Coun. Peter Dykie also praised the efforts of Wong, Deputy CAO Mahesh Ramdeo, and planning department staff.
In particular, Dykie said he receives “a lot” of calls from residents pleased with the staff who are able to help not just big builders but also “mom and pop.”
To help residents with home improvement projects including decks, garages, storage sheds, fences, and interior alterations, the building division is extending office hours June through August by appointment on Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Of the permits issued between April 1 and June 30 this year, two were for farm buildings, three were for industrial occupancy, four were for business and personal occupancy, 17 were for assembly occupancy, 18 were for mercantile occupancy and 115 were for residential occupancy.
That marks an increase of 3.6 per cent over the 111 permits for residential occupancy issued during the same time in 2023, and an even bigger increase in the share of the overall number of permits to 72.3 per cent from 66.9 per cent.
Better still, of the 115 residential permits issued, 44 were for new residential development compared to 36 in the same time last year.
However, even if builders and developers begin work on all those projects this year, it’s still only a fraction of the province’s housing target for Bradford, which would require 542 new housing starts in 2024.
The province’s housing supply progress website shows only 101 new starts in Bradford this year, but it hasn’t been updated since June 12, based on monthly housing starts and additional dwelling unit (ADU) data provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as well as long-term care bed data from the Ministry of Long-Term Care.
At the current rate, the town is only on track for about 202 housing starts this year, even fewer than the 254 last year, which were just 53 per cent of that year’s target of 477.
Those targets come as part of the town’s pledge to build 6,500 new homes by 2031, and municipalities that reach 80 per cent of their targets are set to receive additional funding through the province’s $1.2-billion Building Faster Fund, with bonuses for municipalities who exceed the targets.
The report lists the total construction value of projects permitted in the second quarter at more than $28.4 million resulting in about $480,200 in permit fees.
That’s compared to construction value of more than $52 million in the same time last year, but that only resulted in about $392,000 in permit fees.
