City of Vernon Business Improvement Team says it is making it easier to deal with the municipality

Easier to get a permit

Photo: Pexels

Over the past year, the City of Vernon Business Improvement Team has been taking steps to make dealing with municipality easier and smoother.

Over the past year, the City of Vernon Business Improvement Team has been taking steps to make dealing with municipality easier and smoother.

A report that will be presented to city council at their regular meeting Monday, states the team has “made substantial progress modernizing the city’s planning and building processes, with a strong focus on improving customer service and supporting economic development."

“By transitioning from paper-based systems to streamlined digital applications, the city is making it easier, faster, and more convenient for residents, businesses, and developers to do business.”

The report said the team took a deliberate, phased approach, starting with simpler permit types to ensure a positive customer experience and then advancing to more complex applications.

Several permits and applications are now available online with secure, 24/7 access and online payment options, reducing wait times and improving predictability for applicants.

“Building on this foundation, the team will launch online building permit applications in March, representing a significant step forward for service delivery and investment readiness,” the report says. These permits include single-family and multi-family dwellings, commercial and industrial buildings, mixed-use and institutional developments, accessory structures, retaining walls, swimming pools, plumbing, and demolitions.

“Moving these permits online will improve transparency, reduce processing delays, and provide greater certainty for construction timelines, key factors in supporting local development and investment,”the report says. “Once building permits are fully operational online, the team will continue later this year by transitioning the development permit process to a digital platform.

Digitizing this complex approval stream will further enhance the customer experience, improve co-ordination and turnaround times, and help position the City as a responsive, business-friendly community that supports sustainable growth and economic activity.”