Latest news with #DevelopmentServices
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
County pilot program looks to increase rental housing
County of Brant Council received a report in regards to a new Temporary Rental Grant Pilot Program, during their regular council meeting on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Overall, the program will attempt to get more houses with several bedrooms, available for rent in the short term, by incentivizing developers to turn their unsold inventory into rental units in exchange for a grant. As stated in a report presented to Council, 'the grant would be paid over a period of five years, equal to the amount of the Development Charges [DC] reduction they would have been entitled to if they met the criteria of Rental Housing Development under the Act.' The initiative comes after preliminary findings from the County's Housing Needs Assessment outline that the needs for rental housing in the community is not being met. 'The initial housing needs assessment results came back, which noted a dire need for rentals within the county, specifically multi-bedroom rentals,' said Alysha Dyjach, General Manager of Development Services. 'Some commentary coming back from some of the councillors in this room indicated that it's time to potentially get some innovative solutions. What's before you tonight is not, in any way, a magic bullet. This is a very small, specific response to one, very small issue.' Not only would the program incentivize more rental units, but it would also help the local construction industry. According to the report, developers are saying that with fewer people buying homes, it has left them unwilling to continue with their developments due to the fact that the inventory of vacant constructed units is growing. On top of that, the County's allocation policy only allows developers to move onto the next phase of a subdivision when 75 per cent of the units in the previous phase are occupied. 'While this approach has helped manage infrastructure capacity, it is also contributing to the pause in construction activity as units remain unsold and unoccupied,' said Dyjach. 'The slowdown in construction activity has resulted in a surplus of vacant units for sale, while at the same time creating uncertainty in the local housing construction and job market which could result in job reductions, lower material demand, lower business attraction, and reduce municipal revenue that can be invested in infrastructure and services.' Within the program, staff are proposing a starting budget of $81,500 based on an initial estimate of 40 three-bedroom units. This would provide a per-unit investment of approximately $2037.50 in the first year. Staff did mention that because this is a pilot project, they were anticipating that the uptake could be significantly lower than the maximum amount. 'This is a temporary solution. It's not permanent, and we have no idea on what the uptake might be,' said Dyjach. 'What we're hoping is that this might potentially tip the scales to allow even if it's just a handful of rentals within our community. Those are rentals which families desperately need right now, who can't afford a down payment for home.' Councillor John Peirce congratulated staff for thinking outside of the box, but said it was a bit of a doubled-edged sword. 'There's nothing in here to indicate that we, as the County, would have any sway as far as the cost of rent would go. So sure, you've got a million dollar house there that they can't sell, so they can rent it, but are they gonna rent it for $4,000 or $5,000 a month that people still can't afford?' he said. 'I think it's a great idea, don't get me wrong, but I'm wondering, do we have any skin in the game, so to speak, when it comes to the amount that's going to be charged for rent? Because it doesn't help anybody if there's $3,000 to $5,000/ month houses out there to rent.' Dyjach responded saying that he was correct, the County would not have any control over the price of rent. 'To be clear, these are not affordable [units]. If they were affordable under what the province declares to be affordable, there would be a 100 per cent DC credit,' she said. 'So, these are not affordable, however, they do have to be rented and so if they are so high that there is no market for them, then they would not be eligible for the program.' While several councillors including Steve Howes, Lukas Oakley, Christine Garneau, and John Bell, commended staff for the innovative solution, Bell wondered if an entire family could be displaced if a developer sold their rental unit. 'I would like to be sure that people that do rent these properties, don't find that two months into their rental, the developer comes and says, 'sorry we sold it, so now you're out,'' he said. 'I think there needs to be some reasonable guarantee of tenure for people that use this program, and I think that's a reasonable quid pro quo from the developers.' Dyjach said that because these would be private rentals, the County ultimately wouldn't have any control over the lease agreements, but that staff could make it so that in order to be eligible for the grant, the units have to be rented in 12-month blocks. Later, Mayor David Bailey said he thought it was a great program. 'I think when people get into these units, they'll be able to establish some sort of a rental history with the builder, and perhaps be able to buy it later,' he said. 'If some people don't have any history on rentals, this is a good opportunity to have a break and all buy something you're already living in and familiar with, so I think it's really great.' In the end, Council unanimously voted to receive and support the report, approve funding for the project in the amount of $81,500 and directed staff to draft a Temporary Rental Grant agreement. Kimberly De Jong's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rebuilding made easier: Butte County releases free ADU and small home plans
( — Years after devastating wildfires tore through Butte County, many families are still struggling to rebuild. However, a new initiative launched by the county aims to make that process easier and more affordable. Butte County has introduced a set of free, pre-approved building plans for small homes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The plans are part of a broader effort to support wildfire survivors and address the region's ongoing affordable housing crisis. 'We have had numerous wildfires here. We've had layered disasters for years,' said Paula Daneluk, the county's Director of Development Services. It's been nearly six years since the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, four years since the North Complex Fire and three years since the Dixie Fire. Combined, the fires destroyed more than 23,000 structures across the county, leaving a long and difficult path to recovery. 'Affordable housing is an issue not just in Butte County, but across the state,' Daneluk said. According to the 2024 Affordable Housing Needs Report, more than 8,000 low-income renter households in Butte County lack access to affordable housing. Repeated wildfires have only made the crisis worse by driving up housing costs and reducing supply. 'Obviously, we do not have enough affordable housing, and the goal is that we have a house for everybody who needs one,' Daneluk said. To help meet that goal, the county made three free building plans available for small homes and ADUs, which are secondary units that can be built on the same lot as an existing single-family home. 'These plans were designed specifically to be affordable,' said Daneluk. 'They are an opportunity for us to get sticks out of the ground and have units built.' The plans meet all applicable building codes, accessibility requirements, and zoning standards. They were created with input from local designers and are built to allow the use of locally sourced materials. 'When we worked with the designer, that was the direction that was given. That the buildings themselves had to be designed in such a way that all the materials could be locally sourced here in Butte County,' Daneluk said. By offering these plans at no cost, the county estimates residents could save thousands of dollars in architectural and design fees, and potentially months in permitting and planning. 'People don't have to go out and hire an architect and spend all that money,' Daneluk said. 'These are free, ready-to-go-off-the-shelf building plans.' After years of destruction, county officials hope the initiative offers residents a practical path forward. Additional resources for wildfire recovery and rebuilding are available through the Butte County Department of Development Services. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kalispell Planning Commission to weigh new housing rules
May 13—The Kalispell Planning Commission on Tuesday is expected to weigh regulations streamlining residential development as part of the city's preliminary draft land use plan. The Montana Land Use Planning Act, signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte in 2023, required 10 Montana cities, including Kalispell, to draft a new plan that places a particular focus on housing and is influenced largely through community engagement. The commission convenes on May 13 at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E. A dedicated city webpage ( allows residents to pick and choose from 14 zoning regulations identified in the act that they believe would most effectively promote attainable housing in Kalispell. The city is required to adopt a minimum of five out of 14 regulations. Potential ordinances include allowing apartments as permitted use in office and commercial zones, higher density housing near community hubs like colleges or public transit, and having tiny houses defined in building code. The housing section of the draft plan is aimed at increasing access to attainable housing for all income levels, according to a memo from city planner Donnie McBath. The plan supports compact and connected neighborhoods through infill development, redevelopment of underused sites and higher-density housing near services and transportation corridors. Recent development has eased the housing market, but affordability, limited vacancy and an imbalance in the geographic distribution of housing types remain key issues, according to McBath. While the rental vacancy rate sits at a tight 1.1%, close to 30% of Kalispell's total land area remains vacant, amounting to around 2,500 acres. Nearly all of that land has zoning designations that support housing. "This available land base presents a significant opportunity for accommodating future residential, commercial and public facility needs," wrote Development Services Director Jarod Nygren in a memo. Kalispell's population is expected to grow by around 19,000 residents by 2045, prompting the need for between 8,800 and 10,000 new housing units, according to McBath. Between 2021 and 2025, City Hall approved roughly 7,500 new residential units, which was a significant step toward meeting that growth, according to Nygren. The city is currently home to an estimated 15,847 dwellings, which consists of 60% single-family homes, 30% multifamily units and 10% manufactured or mobile homes, according to the memo. The Montana Land Use Planning Act has drawn criticism from city officials for limiting public input on site-specific developments and instead frontloads public involvement in developing a plan. The law ends public hearings in front of Council on site-specific construction, which includes subdivisions. That provision was ruled unconstitutional by a district court judge in Bozeman earlier this year, though, leaving city planners with unanswered questions on how site-specific projects should be approached. THE COMMISSION also will hear a proposal from the developer of a subdivision south of Kalispell looking to expand its neighborhood. Colton Behr, developer of the Anderson Ranch subdivision that was OK'd by Council in September 2024, is looking to add 12 acres to the 31-acre property that resides on the west side of Demersville Road and just south of Lower Valley Road. The extension, which is at the south end of the property, is meant to get the development in line with the city's growth policy, which designates four housing units per acre. The bulk of the new property is within a 100-year flood zone but will only be used for parkland, open space and stormwater detention, according to the development proposal. The entire subdivision stakes out 166 lots for single-family detached dwellings. The homes will be 1,600 square feet or less on 4,500-square-foot lots, "which equates to small homes on small lots that can provide more attainable housing options for residents of Kalispell," according to the subdivision proposal. Neighboring units will share a driveway to preserve area for on-street parking. The neighborhood is expected to bring roughly 56 students to the K-12 school system at full buildout and will generate about 1,600 daily vehicle trips, according to a traffic study done last fall. The PUD proposes 13.31 acres of parkland along the south side of the property. The subdivision shares a planned unit development with Todd Gardner, who owns property directly west. The combined planned unit development amounts to 95-acres zoned for residential, industrial and commercial uses. An Amazon distribution warehouse is being built on the Gardner-owned property. The one-story building is set to be about 28,000 square feet and located on United Drive near Fred's Applicance. The property will also see some road work, including an east/west road connecting U.S. 93 with Demersville Road, which may be fitted with a traffic signal. Another traffic signal will also be built on the portion of road meeting Demersville Road and Bar H Drive. Reporter Jack Underhill may be reached at 758-4407 or junderhill@
Business Wire
29-04-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Revelstoke, BC, Chooses Clariti Launch to Simplify Community Development Processes
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To help the City accelerate permit approvals and improve the end-to-end permitting experience for customers and staff, Revelstoke, B.C., has selected Clariti's Launch permitting software and Guide to move its community development processes online. Once live, the new system will be used by the Development Services department, which administers permitting, planning, business licensing, and bylaw enforcement services. 'Revelstoke is a little City with big City problems, and we need a community development system to support that,' said Kenny Gipps, the City's Manager of Development Services/Chief Building Official. Because Revelstoke is a resort community, the City sees more commercial building activity than is typical for its size, so development can be quite complex. Over the last five years, the City has experienced exponential year-over-year growth, with its total building permit valuation surpassing $170 million in 2023 due to several large developments, and $83 million in 2024. Currently, the City doesn't have permitting software, but Development Services has implemented a semi-digital process that allows customers to fill out PDFs online and email them in along with any plans. They can pay application fees by e-transfer, but after the permit is issued, they pay the final invoice in person. In the back office, staff use BlueBeam for plan markup and fillable PDFs for inspection reports. Kenny explained that while it's worked as an interim solution, there's still too much manual admin work for staff and a lack of transparency throughout the process. With Clariti Launch and Guide, the City's biggest goals are to: Provide a clear, guided online application process that gives applicants full transparency into the process Automate the permit approvals process from start to finish Reduce the amount of manual administrative work in order to reduce processing timelines and also provide a higher level of service to the community Reduce the back-and-forth between customers and staff Improve the quality of applications by providing applicants with clear, step-by-step instructions using the Guide Reduce the amount of time staff spend manually pulling data and creating reports Speaking to the functionality that will save staff the most time, Kenny highlighted Launch's reporting tools and how 'you can pull data out with just the click of a button.' He also emphasized process automation and how it will solve many administrative challenges, especially for the department's two clerks. As for the Clariti Guide, the city aims to provide a better experience for homeowners and contractors by providing personalized, step-by-step permit application instructions online. Kenny said they plan to merge the Guide with their existing planning application guides, which will not only help improve application quality but also help 'provide a higher level of service to the community.' When comparing different vendors, Kenny explained the Guide was a 'big' factor in the City's decision to move forward with Clariti, as well as Launch's extensive community development capabilities that go beyond just building permitting. But ultimately, the biggest standout was the level of support provided by Clariti. "Having the Clariti Team lead [the implementation] and support us was a big selling feature," said Kenny. Staff capacity is one of our biggest challenges, especially with all of the legislative changes we've had lately, so having Clariti lead the onboarding was a big piece [in our decision]." The flexibility of Launch was another key factor in the City's decision. 'It was such a shock for us when we saw that you can actually change workflows yourself,' said Kenny. 'It was like, 'Wow,' we can edit this on the fly just by dragging and dropping. It was so impressive.' In addition to editing their own workflows, Development Services will also be able to clone best-practice permit-type configurations from other Clariti customers with Community Templates. Using these ready-made templates could speed up their implementation by 25% or more. 'We're thrilled to partner with the City of Revelstoke to help solve their administrative challenges,' said Cyrus Symoom, Co-CEO at Clariti. 'We know that smaller cities like Revelstoke don't have the time or resources to implement new permitting software, which is what we are here for — to provide the hands-on support they need.' About Clariti Clariti helps governments of all sizes across North America achieve unparalleled efficiency and productivity with configurable community development solutions that include extensive purpose-built processes leading governments use every day. Today, Clariti is the only permitting software vendor solely focused on community development, with a suite of products that includes two different community development platforms for large and small-sized governments, and a pre-application permitting guide. Clariti solutions are trusted by leading governments of all sizes such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orange County, Tampa, FL, Placerville, CA, Albany, NY, and more. For more information, visit Revelstoke is located in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The City has nearly 9,000 residents and is known for its natural beauty and booming outdoor recreation industry. For more information, visit
National Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- National Post
Revelstoke, BC, Chooses Clariti Launch to Simplify Community Development Processes
Article content VANCOUVER, British Columbia — To help the City accelerate permit approvals and improve the end-to-end permitting experience for customers and staff, Revelstoke, B.C., has selected Clariti's Launch permitting software and Guide to move its community development processes online. Once live, the new system will be used by the Development Services department, which administers permitting, planning, business licensing, and bylaw enforcement services. Article content Article content 'Revelstoke is a little City with big City problems, and we need a community development system to support that,' said Kenny Gipps, the City's Manager of Development Services/Chief Building Official. Article content Because Revelstoke is a resort community, the City sees more commercial building activity than is typical for its size, so development can be quite complex. Over the last five years, the City has experienced exponential year-over-year growth, with its total building permit valuation surpassing $170 million in 2023 due to several large developments, and $83 million in 2024. Article content Currently, the City doesn't have permitting software, but Development Services has implemented a semi-digital process that allows customers to fill out PDFs online and email them in along with any plans. They can pay application fees by e-transfer, but after the permit is issued, they pay the final invoice in person. In the back office, staff use BlueBeam for plan markup and fillable PDFs for inspection reports. Kenny explained that while it's worked as an interim solution, there's still too much manual admin work for staff and a lack of transparency throughout the process. Article content With Clariti Launch and Guide, the City's biggest goals are to: Article content Speaking to the functionality that will save staff the most time, Kenny highlighted Launch's reporting tools and how 'you can pull data out with just the click of a button.' He also emphasized process automation and how it will solve many administrative challenges, especially for the department's two clerks. Article content As for the Clariti Guide, the city aims to provide a better experience for homeowners and contractors by providing personalized, step-by-step permit application instructions online. Kenny said they plan to merge the Guide with their existing planning application guides, which will not only help improve application quality but also help 'provide a higher level of service to the community.' Article content When comparing different vendors, Kenny explained the Guide was a 'big' factor in the City's decision to move forward with Clariti, as well as Launch's extensive community development capabilities that go beyond just building permitting. But ultimately, the biggest standout was the level of support provided by Clariti. 'Having the Clariti Team lead [the implementation] and support us was a big selling feature,' said Kenny. Staff capacity is one of our biggest challenges, especially with all of the legislative changes we've had lately, so having Clariti lead the onboarding was a big piece [in our decision].' Article content The flexibility of Launch was another key factor in the City's decision. 'It was such a shock for us when we saw that you can actually change workflows yourself,' said Kenny. 'It was like, 'Wow,' we can edit this on the fly just by dragging and dropping. It was so impressive.' Article content In addition to editing their own workflows, Development Services will also be able to clone best-practice permit-type configurations from other Clariti customers with Community Templates. Using these ready-made templates could speed up their implementation by 25% or more. Article content 'We're thrilled to partner with the City of Revelstoke to help solve their administrative challenges,' said Cyrus Symoom, Co-CEO at Clariti. 'We know that smaller cities like Revelstoke don't have the time or resources to implement new permitting software, which is what we are here for — to provide the hands-on support they need.' Article content Clariti helps governments of all sizes across North America achieve unparalleled efficiency and productivity with configurable community development solutions that include extensive purpose-built processes leading governments use every day. Today, Clariti is the only permitting software vendor solely focused on community development, with a suite of products that includes two different community development platforms for large and small-sized governments, and a pre-application permitting guide. Clariti solutions are trusted by leading governments of all sizes such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orange County, Tampa, FL, Placerville, CA, Albany, NY, and more. For more information, visit Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content Article content
