THUNDER BAY – The city is looking to streamline access to developmental services by breaking down barriers contractors have when trying to access permits for new builds.
Joel DePeuter, director of development services, said the one-stop development stop will be a single point of access where members of the public will speak with a front-line customer services worker who will pass on a customer to the right person based on their needs.
City council will receive a report on the changes from administration on Monday.
“We really want to minimize people being sent from one service to another, and maybe it's not the right service or not the right person. We all know from customer service experience that can be frustrating,” DePeuter told Newswatch.
For example, for larger-scale projects, like building multi-unit high-rises, the lifecycle of the build has contractors communicating with the city about their pre-planning to zoning site preparation and gathering the correct permits for construction of the build, as well as service connection permits and driveway permits.
“This one-stop shop approaches in an effort to simplify what can be a pretty complex process. These projects are not straightforward. The municipality just wants to help these projects go smoothly and have some early engagement to help people through the process and make that process simpler and help problem solve,” said DePeuter.
Large-scale projects are not the only focus. The development service department will help residents navigate the permit process for those looking to add an addition to their home or build a garage in their backyard.
“Even smaller scale projects can be considered complex for somebody who has not been through that before. We would want to be providing additional service up front as the person plans for the project and wants to understand the process as well,” said DePeuter.
Some key actions to implementing the one-stop development shop include centralizing developmental services under one roof with some minor renovations to the development services office, including a customer service counter.
Another immediate priority is to establish a single point of access for customers. This will be a single phone number and email for all development needs.
City staff are looking to have the one-stop development shop complete by spring.
However, this type of customer service model is only the beginning. The city is looking to implement a one-stop service shop for all municipal services.
“I think, over time, this is something that would be expanded upon and improved upon. It's also meant to create more seamless service between the municipal services and other agency services as we get into non-municipal utility connections and environmental approvals,” said DePeuter.
