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Some years ago, a fellow stumbled into some ranch land in southern Oklahoma. The place needed a barn. Fortunately, this fellow knew a barn builder; a sketch of a barn was hastily pencilled on a feed sack and a few days later a dump of steel hit the site.
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The would-be barn owner came from a region not used to much freedom, so he went off to the county office in search of a building permit. When he inquired about a permit, the amused clerk said, “Mister, it’s your barn.”
A couple of years later, the same fella bought some land in Ontario. Once again, he needed a barn and, once again, he called a barn builder. Same barn, different place.
This barn would require detailed engineering. A feed sack drawing certainly wouldn’t suffice despite the barn builder’s experience and skill.
Permitting was required and complex. The region, the town, the conservation authority and two school boards had to be engaged. And there were development charges.
Despite the fact the barn did not require any services provided by the region, town, school boards (horses infrequently attend schools) or the conservation authority, all agreed development charges should be applied. A barn is a development and, by gosh, development should be taxed.
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The long and short of it was that the project would require about a year and $30,000 to get through the approvals process. So long as, of course, no one objected to the building of the barn.
This was not startling news. Back in the 1980s, this fellow had a trucking company in the middle of the town of Streetsville, Ont. Not a great place for a trucking company, all would agree. So, he bought a piece of land in a trucking zone and applied for permits to build a new shop.
Months into the complex process of getting approval to build a truck garage in a trucking area, the fellow called the mayor of the undisclosed city and said, “Hazel (McCallion), do you want this trucking company in the middle of town or in a commercial zone?”
Somehow, the process was streamlined and the truck garage was built. But it wasn’t easy (or cheap).
And therein lies the rub. Somewhere between “it’s your barn” and a year to get a permit is the happy place Ontario and the rest of Canada are trying to get to. It won’t be easy.
The sudden discovery by federal and provincial politicians of the tangled mess of building regulations and fees has been prompted by the housing shortage; however, the problem is much deeper. The entire process is designed to thwart development and many of the real costs are hidden.
Why build a new trucking garage if the city makes it expensive and exasperating? Why spend years and thousands of dollars building a barn if you can get the barn up and running in a couple of weeks elsewhere? Why invest in Canada?
Last week, Ontario Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Paul Calandra introduced legislation to streamline some of the permitting debacle. It’s a good start but the nirvana of building in weeks, not years, is a long way off.
Municipalities see development charges as tax revenue that doesn’t require billing voters. The speed and cost of permitting aren’t benchmarked against other jurisdictions. Whole departments stand between an idea and a building.
We remain a long way from “it’s your barn.”
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SNOBELEN: Building a future requires streamlined processes
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13.04.2024
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Some years ago, a fellow stumbled into some ranch land in southern Oklahoma. The place needed a barn. Fortunately, this fellow knew a barn builder; a sketch of a barn was hastily pencilled on a feed sack and a few days later a dump of steel hit the site.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
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The would-be barn owner came from a region not used to much freedom, so he went off to the county office in search of a building permit. When he inquired about a permit, the amused clerk said, “Mister, it’s your barn.”
A couple of years later, the same fella bought some land in Ontario. Once again, he needed a barn and, once again, he called a barn builder. Same barn, different place.
This barn would require detailed engineering. A feed sack........
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