Business Plan: Development Services

Transcription

1 Business Plan: Development Services How does this service contribute to the results identified in the City of London Strategic Plan? A Strong Economy A Sustainable Infrastructure Growth helps drive London s economy and Development Services understands the importance of supporting growth by providing a fair and efficient service to developers. We need to make London a city where businesses want to build and people want to live. Growth is important, but we must still have regard for both the City and Public s interest in smart and sustainable growth from both a built form and a servicing perspective. We want Londoners of tomorrow to be proud of the growth we approve today. Name the main activities done to provide this service: Name The Activities Done To Provide This Service How Much Did We Do? (2013) Is The City Mandated To Provide This Service? 1. Subdivision Approvals (complete applications received) 4 Yes Yes 2. Subdivision Approvals (active subdivision files* ) 3. Site Plan Approvals 131 Yes Yes 4. Condominium Applications 15 Yes Yes 5. Consent Applications 45 Yes Yes 6. Agreement Compliance (SP, Subdivision, Condo) $ in Security Reductions Yes Yes 7. Minor Variances 230 Yes Yes 8. Holding Provision Removals 35 Yes Yes 9. Planning File Liaisons (OP and Zoning Amendments) 17 Yes Yes 10. Development Policy Updates 2 larger initiatives (less than a Yes Yes year) and many smaller initiatives 11. Economic Development New for 2014 No No 12. Business Liaison New for 2014 No No * active subdivision files includes all applications for draft plan approval and all draft approved plans not fully registered Can The Level Of Service Be Changed? 1

2 What is the current state of this service? Development Services processes applications under the Planning Act related to subdivisions, site plans, plans of condominium, consents and minor variances through all stages from initial consultation to final assumption, bringing a consistent corporate approach from both a planning and engineering perspective. In addition, this group provides commentary plus coordination of divisional comments for other Planning Act applications related to re-zonings and Official Plan amendments. We administer development agreement compliance through inspection and security management. The team also provides advice and input to the Development Charges Background Study and Growth Management Implementation Strategy Update processes through the monitoring of growth indicators, consulting with industry leaders and reporting on development approvals progress. The Development Services team serves both the development community and London s greater community in addressing the integration of growth projects into the existing built City through timely, quality development approvals. Our team also serves internal City colleagues by providing a coordination function that delivers a clear corporate message to applicants. Starting in 2014, the Business Liaison Unit was incorporated into Development and Compliance Services, working collaboratively with our area to ensure we are Open for Business and At Your Service. Staff will monitor and update the Development and Compliance Services web pages to ensure they are accessible, up-to-date, straightforward and informative. The Business Liaison Unit focuses on business and development related processes and acts as the first point of contact for the London Economic Development Corporation to ensure their retention, recruitment and expansion clients are served in an efficient and effective manner. Additionally, this newly incorporated unit also acts as the first point of contact for the Industrial Land Development Strategy implementation. What Is Driving this Service? Our service is ultimately driven by provincial legislation, however, at the municipal level, we are driven to support growth by making London a city where businesses want to build and people want to live. We can do this by providing a high level of customer service to applicants while having regard for the City s interest in smart and sustainable growth from both a built form and servicing perspective. London s Strategic Plan and Council direction have established a high priority for Economic Development. 2

3 Challenges and Pressure Points There is constant pressure from the development industry and applicants to reach faster approvals with minimal cost. Every applicant feels their proposal should have top priority and they want to be subjected to as little process as possible. Development Services has implemented a number of initiatives aimed at improving efficiencies such as updated Subdivision and Site Plan Approval Processes, increased opportunities for communication (throughout the processes) and policy updates. Still, we have been challenged to have our message of At Your Service understood by the industry and other stakeholders. We need to do a better job of helping our customers view us as a resource to help them succeed in their development rather than as a bureaucracy in their way. This can be achieved by continuing to find service improvements and better promoting those improvements and our At Your Service message. Current Objectives/Milestones The Development Services Management Team has been working to find efficiencies and improve customer service. The following are some of the priority initiatives identified in our Work Plan to Improve Service Delivery: Implement several adjustments to the Site Plan Internal Procedures aimed at improving approval timelines; Clarify definitions for streaming Site Plan applications based on complexity to offer clear process reductions under the two expedited streams; Approve an update to the Subdivision Agreement General Provisions and initiate a streamlined liaison circulation process to reduce agreement preparation timelines; Advance plans to consolidate Development Services staff on the 6 th Floor to achieve the intended approval team integration and eliminate inefficiencies inherent to being separated. This will provide one-stop service for applicants and members of the public, and facilitate improved teamwork among staff; To better deliver our At Your Service message to the industry as well as our internal customers, we are working to establish a Value Proposition that clearly communicates the benefits our customers receive by using our service. Armed with a clear description of our value added, we plan to identify measurables that capture the Value Proposition so we can better market our service and report on our successes. 3

4 Recent Achievements While the number of new Subdivision Applications has gone down in recent years, the integrated Development Services Approval Team has been working to advance many phases of approved draft plans through the functional and detailed design stages to registration and ready for building permits. New subdivision applications received without outside limiting factors have been processed to draft approval within the legislated timeline. The four complete applications for draft plan approved in 2013 averaged within the legislated approval timeline of 180 days, noting one file was approved in 126 days. Two substantial policy initiatives have just concluded, both involving significant industry consultation: Security Policy Update: Provides definition, clarity and simplification to the policies for the calculation, collection, reduction and release of performance securities for both subdivisions and site plans; and Baseline for Municipally Imposed Costs (MIC s): A consolidated view of all fees, charges and costs imposed by the municipality through the subdivision approval process. This will be reviewed annually to monitor the impacts of any new fees or revised design specifications on the cost of residential development. What has been done to manage the budget? The service area has been actively managing its budget by implementing initiatives led by the management team aimed at creating efficiencies, avoiding costs and generating revenue. These include the following: Efficiencies / Costs Avoided Vacancy management has resulted in cost savings over the past 3 years though not without impact on service levels. Development Services arranged for Noise Attenuation Training experts to come to London and provide training in house for more than a dozen staff over multiple services areas at a fraction of the cost of sending individuals out of town for training. Prior to offering this training, only one employee in the corporation was qualified to review submitted Noise Studies. 4

5 Revenue Generation / User Fee Increases The maximum cap of $4,000 for Site Plan Applications was removed effective January 1, 2014 and will result in an increase in annual revenues. Adjustments to the Planning Application Fees over the last few years have partially offset reductions in the number of applications, particularly for Draft Plan of Subdivisions. With the approval of the Southwest Area Plan, a surge in development applications is expected within this area potentially rebounding anticipated revenues into What is the future direction of this service? After being formed in mid-2012, Development Services has been undertaking planning and engineering reviews in an integrated manner by co-ordinating input from other divisions, resolving conflicts and providing feedback to applicants in a timely manner. Process improvements are ongoing and familiarity with the File Manager Development Approval system has increased over time. The profile of Development Services has improved within the Corporation, as well as with members of the public and the development industry. We will continue working to strengthen relationships with all of our customer groups and seek improvements in service delivery wherever possible. What future initiatives can be contained within the maintain existing service level budget? 2015 Budget Create a new Data Tracking System capable of accurately recording milestone targets, file timelines, and other performance indicators (including customer services/experience measureables) for the subdivision review process in order to provide for meaningful reporting and an ability to demonstrate achieved service improvements. Regularly update internal procedures and guidelines to ensure application reviews are conducted in an efficient, timely manner, with clearly stated roles and responsibilities. This will build on and implement the higher level principles established in the File Manager Reference Manuals for the Plan of Subdivision process and Site Plan Approval process. 5

6 Forecast Implement fully integrated open data system to facilitate on-line application inquiries by applicants and members of the public. This will improve transparency and provide for instant turnaround of file status information. Conduct ongoing Refresher Training on Development Approval Process to maintain currency and consistency among Development Services staff as well as internal liaison partners. Opportunities should also be sought to regularly refresh industry representatives (local developers, engineering and planning consultants) to help them maintain a current understanding of our process. Low cost outreach sessions allow for staff and industry representatives to connect while delivering clear messaging. Refresher training and engagement needs to occur with liaison groups to help ensure the comments provided are appropriate and applicable and Development Services effectively represents their interests so that applications are not unduly delayed. Investigate opportunities to introduce defined site visit points in the approval process to provide context and improved real world exposure for staff. This may trigger a need for additional vehicle or parking mileage allowances for senior technicians and planners. Emerging Issues and Challenges Applications will continue to be submitted and ongoing reviews will be conducted for plans of subdivision, site plans, condominiums, consents and minor variances. The nature of the reviews may be affected over the next five years by corporate initiatives such as The London Plan, the 2014 Development Charges By-law and associated GMIS, and the approved Southwest Area Plan. Development Services will be providing input and monitoring these initiatives to ensure that updated policies, guidelines and implementation measures are established to reflect the corporate position. Key Performance Indicators As described above under Current Objectives/Milestones, Development Services has begun work to establish a new set of meaningful measures designed to tell the story of our service delivery successes. These new measures will be incorporated into the new tracking system to be developed as one of our priority initiatives, also described above. Once developed, these new KPI s will be actively monitored and reflected in future Business Plans. 6