Bill aiming to limit local government peer review of developer submissions faces opposition.
More organizations are publicly sharing their concerns about the harms the bill could cause if passed. The bill has passed second reading, and is moving into the committee stage for review.
Lidstone & Company issued a bulletin saying, “(t)he scheme would create significant delays and extra costs for developers in the development process in BC. It creates new liability for local governments, and predictably higher insurance costs for homeowners and businesses.”
The Lower Mainland Local Government Association has written to the Premier saying that bill M216 should be set aside due to concerns with conflict of interest, public transparency, enforcement and compliance challenges and the ambiguity of its language.
The Planning Institute of BC wrote an open letter to Premier Eby summarizing flaws in the bill. “Bill M216 appears to be inconsistent with Certified Professional Programs already being implemented by local governments to streamline building and occupancy permit processes.”