the broken typewriter

Municipalities across British Columbia are calling for the withdrawal of Bill M-216, the Professional Reliance Act, after hearing from urbanists, urban planners, architects, and academics with backgrounds in development. They fear that the bill creates significant risks for new homeowners and taxpayers, by removing the ability of local governments to review development proposals.

Bill M-216 would replace municipal oversight by prohibiting municipalities from asking for a standard technical peer review during housing development applications when there are concerns instead, force them to accept project certification professionals hired by the developers themselves.

In addition to removing independent oversight, the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) and municipalities including Fort St. John, are concerned that Bill M-216 will slow down development approvals, create liabilities for local governments, while taking a one-size fits all approach that ignores local and regional needs.

For example, to resolve a technical dispute between the Professional Governance Act professional retained by the developer and one employed by a local government, Bill M-216 would refer it to an eight-member Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance. The office, based in Victoria, would be responsible for handling dispute resolutions from 161 municipalities and 27 regional districts.

Currently, the average time for Fort St. John to issue a complex building permit is two to four weeks, while the average rezoning time is two to three months. If the city has to await dispute resolutions from Victoria rather than relying on the expertise of local professionals with knowlege of the community’s needs and constraints, that could add unnecessary delays to the approvals processes for local developers.

At the November 24 Regular Council meeting, when Council agreed to write letters to the MLA behind the bill, as well as the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, and the Minister of State for Local Government and Rural Communities of BC expressing Fort St. John’s concerns, Councillor Gord Klassen spoke of his surprise that NDP MLA George Anderson would have come up with such a bill.

“It’s a little surprising because the impacts to local governments are significant,” Klassen said. “All three of these ministers were local government people before they were elected to the legislature in Victoria, so I’m surprised they’re pushing this forward.”

Klassen added that in addition to writing letters, they should make use of the portal provided by the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Bills, which the bill moved to last week following second reading in the Legislature.

In the Development Services department’s report to Council, it was noted that local governments were not given an opportunity to consult with MLA Anderson before he brought his bill to the legislature, despite the impacts to both municipal and regional district approval processes. The report detailed the same concerns that the UBCM outlined in its letter to municipalties last week.

The recommendation was carried unanimously:

“THAT, Council direct staff to draft letters outlining concerns with Bill M 216 to the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle, MLA George Anderson, and Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities of British Columbia Brittny Anderson.”