Building Permit Updates

The City of Whitehorse is hosting a Whitehorse Building Workshop for local builders.

The Whitehorse Building Workshop is an opportunity for builders, contractors, suppliers, and other industry representatives to learn and share information about the City’s building permit process and local building requirements for residential development.

Officials from the Land and Building Services Department will provide a review of the 2024 building season and discuss the changes underway to improve the City's building permit process, including a new e-permitting system that is in the works and scheduled to launch for the 2025 construction season.

Officials will also provide an overview of recently approved zoning amendments that encourage more residential development in Whitehorse, including the default allowance of up to four units per lot in all urban single detached residential zones.

Ken Kunka (AScT BCQ), a Registered Building Official for over 30 years, will also lead in-depth presentations on recent updates to the National Building Code and best practices within the construction industry.

Ken is the owner of Flywheel Building Solutions and has over 30 years of experience as a framer, consultant, and designer. He also spent 13 years as the Building and Permitting Manager with the City of Penticton, overseeing Building Licensing and Bylaw Enforcement.

This experience has given Ken a greater understanding of the critical importance of proper communication, building industry-wide relationships, fair service, transparency, and shared education to ensure the successful completion of building projects and the health and safety of occupants.

Ken's presentations will explore the various aspects of National Building Code and Whitehorse permitting process for housing and small buildings with a focus on the unique challenges faced by local building industry stakeholders.

Each session will encourage dialogue with participants to create solutions for quicker permit turn-around times and Code compliance.

The Whitehorse Building Workshop will take place over two days at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre, 1 Sumanik Drive:

December 2 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (lunch provided)
2024 year in review, changes to improve the building permit process, overview of National Building Code structure and local regulations

December 3 – 9 a.m. – noon
Fundamentals of Part 9 of the National Building Code for Residential Construction

Register here for the Whitehorse Building Workshop.

As of mid-August, the City is no longer facing a building permit backlog.

Permits for complete building permit applications for single-family and townhouses are now being issued within 2-3 weeks. These are permits that are reviewed by Building Officials before being approved (unlike permits for oil tanks, for example).

Permits for complete building permit applications for renovations and commercial permit applications are now being issued in 3-4 weeks. This is within seasonal norms.

Over the past several weeks, the City has taken a number of steps to expedite the permitting process and address staff shortages at Land and Building Services.

The City continues to work diligently to address one of the busiest building seasons on record. To date in 2024, we have received 407 permit applications, compared to 401 received in 2023.

So far this August, the City has issued 94 building permits, more than were issued in June (30) and July (33) combined.

The City continues to take steps to improve the building permit process and reduce the backlog of permit applications.

New Foundation-only Permits for residential projects

Foundation-only Permits are now available for eligible residential projects. This will allow builders to apply for permits for excavation, servicing, footings, and foundation work for new residential buildings and, once issued, allow work to begin while an applicant’s Building Permit is processed.

To be eligible, applicants need to meet certain conditions. Visit www.whitehorse.ca/business-in-whitehorse/zoning/new-builds-renovations for more information to see if your project qualifies.

Support for New Lot Owners

The City has received confirmation from the Government of Yukon that new lot owners can apply for an extension on the building commitment term in their sale agreement if they are impacted by the City’s current Building Permit backlog. An extension may provide additional flexibility for lot owners who are required to build within a specified period of time but have experienced delays in receiving a Building Permit.

Lot owners can request an extension by contacting the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. The City will continue to work in collaboration with the Government of Yukon to support lot owners and alleviate pressures facing the local building industry.

The City will continue to provide updates on efforts to speed up the building permitting process on our Engage Whitehorse page.

Contact:
Matthew Cameron
Manager, Strategic Communications
City of Whitehorse
matthew.cameron@whitehorse.ca
(867) 689-0515

The City’s expanded Land and Building Services (LBS) department is currently at a five-week turn-around for processing new building applications requiring a plan review by a Building Official. This is down from an eighth-week wait from earlier this year.

The added staff and consultant support has enabled the City to gain ground on the backlog of applications it faced this building season, which is expected to be one of the busiest in history. We’ve already received 92% of the number of submissions in all of 2023.

The City of Whitehorse is piloting a new Remote Virtual Inspection system to allow for more timely building inspections.

The new system will use video conferencing technology to allow a Registered Building Official to conduct a building inspection off-site by working with an on-site contractor or builder who is using their phone or tablet. Inspection reports will be completed by the Building Official and sent digitally to the contractor.

The Remote Virtual Inspection system will be implemented this week for select projects. Once the process has been tested over the coming weeks, the City will be working to expand this initiative.

Remote Virtual Inspection services are available in several Canadian municipalities, including Edmonton, Calgary, and Pemberton.

Introducing Remote Virtual Inspections is one of the steps the City is taking to expedite the permitting process and address staff shortages at Land and Building Services. The City has also contracted external help to review building plans and permit applications, redeployed staff to assist in addressing permit applications, and engaged specialized recruitment consultants to hire more Building Officials.

Contact:
Matthew Cameron
Manager, Strategic Communications
City of Whitehorse
matthew.cameron@whitehorse.ca
(867) 689-0515